The sight of wildflowers at Rotherham’s roadsides has been commonplace for the past eight years but even more areas are benefitting from the scheme this year.
Almost three and a half miles of wildflower verges have been planted in 12 trial areas across the borough including Herringthorpe, Swinton, Harthill and Maltby.
Rotherham Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, Cllr Dominic Beck, said: “The wildflowers really add a splash of colour across the borough and also benefit the butterflies, honeybees, birds and other small mammals.
“We’ve had great feedback since we first started planting the flowers and replacing some grass verges eight years ago and we hope to continue to expand the planting again in the future.”
Eight miles of wildflowers were first planted across the borough in 2013 and the mix of seeds has been specially designed from over 180 species.
The special selection has a long flowering season that is achieved by using a successional approach.
Low growing early flowers bloom against the fresh green foliage of the later-flowering species while a higher proportion of later-flowering species grow taller and hide the dying remains of the earlier species.
After flowering, the reservations will be mown in late autumn when the seed heads have dried and will then propagate the areas for next season.