On the Verge

A scheme in Scotland has come up with a roundabout way to grow flowers to help boost the bees. A study into the attractiveness to wildlife of urban sites sown with wildflower seeds has shown that roundabouts and road verges can easily be converted into flower-rich havens for bees and other wildlife by replacing grass with wild flowers. The simple schemes sowing wildflower seed mixes resulted in 50 times more bumblebees and 13 times as many hoverflies on unused corners of land in urban areas according to new research from the University of Sussex and the University of Stirling. The seeds were sown by the Stirling-based group On the Verge, with a seed mix that contained a range of meadow wildflowers of local provenance.