Weed or wildflower?

Whether you take pride in manicured lawns, or revel in the idea of ‘No Mow May’, how do you decide whether the small plant growing amongst the blades of grass is a weed or a wildflower?

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, wildflowers are 'any flowers that grow without having been planted by people', however I would adjust that to any flowering plant, but perhaps that’s semantics. Weeds on the other hand are defined as 'any wild plant that grows in an unwanted place, especially in a garden or field where it prevents the cultivated plants from growing freely'.

So why am I talking about this? Well, Greening Steyning’s Life on the Verge project aims to increase the diversity of plants, specifically focusing on wildflowers, on our verges. The currently unused spaces along our roads could be home to cowslips, yarrow, orchids and many other plants which form the basis of our local food chain.

Pollinating and plant-eating insects rely on diversity to survive, grass alone will not sustain them. In turn they pollinate our gardens and allotments and support a host of bird and mammal species including hedgehogs and bats which we are privileged enough to live alongside.

At first these verges might look a little untidy and covered in plants that may, in other circumstances, be called weeds. However, over time they will start to develop, with new and interesting flowering plants appearing.

We will achieve this long-term change, very simply, by reducing how often the verges are cut, to once, possibly twice a year, and removing the cuttings when they are cut. This will reduce the fertility of the soil which will then support wildflower growth and start to limit the grass.

To have a look at the projects we have started, please visit the top of Shooting Fields in Steyning (by the Church) and the corner of Bramber roundabout at the bottom of Clays Hill. It is early days, but, in the end, we hope to have verges that bring wildflowers, butterflies and bees into the heart of our community.

You can get involved by writing to the county or parish councils and supporting the project or, if you can spare a few hours over the course of the summer and would like to get more practically involved, please do get in touch: lifeontheverge@greeningsteyning.org.