If you are interested in persuading councils to NOT mow your local roadsides, please do take a look at the Plantlife website and sign their petition!
Late last year, we decided not to mow the verges alongside our small private road where we live. In only our first year of no-mow its been a revelation. The number of wild flowers has increased, and there are plants there that I had never seen before. Usually, the verges of the road are strimmed every couple of weeks, and this process obviously means that many of the natural plants are unable to produce seed. The next stage will be to mow after the seeds have set, in late summer. The result of all this is that verges are brimming with flowers and insects, and (in my opinion) it looks fantastic! Here is a list of some of the species I recorded just this summer…
Bristly Ox Tongue
Field Poppy
Ribwort Plantain
Greater plantain
Curled Dock
Broad leaved dock
Heath Bedstraw
Common Mallow
Wild Carrot
Perennial Sowthistle
Fennel
Greater Knapweed
Yarrow
Rough Chervil
Cats Ear
Red and White Campion
Scarlet Periwinkle
Creeping Cinquefoil
Field Bindweed
Herb Robert
Broomrape
Hairy Tare
Hedge Woundwort
Hedge Mustard
Nipplewort
Red and White Clover
Dandelion
Field Daisy
Birds Foot Trefoil
Small Flowered Cranesbill
Common Vetch
Hop Trefoil
Meadow vetchling
Trailing tormentil
Fleabane
Common mint
Common ragwort
Greater willowherb
Hawkbeard
Pineapple weed
Great mullein
Field scabious
Yellow rattle
Hogweed
Spear thistle
Hemp agrimony
Agrimony
Common bent (grass)
Yorkshire fog (grass)
Ox-eye daisy
False oat grass (grass)