Wednesday, August 09, 2017

COULD BRIGG IN BLOOM GO A BIT WILD?



There have been many favourable comments about the new Brigg in Bloom scheme's colourful flower tubs and planters across the town centre.
They are neat, tidy and attractive to the eye.
But Brigg Blog wonders whether, in the future, the organisers would consider adding some wild meadow flowers at certain locations outside the town centre.
We recall there were some verges in Scunthorpe given this treatment, notably alongside the Kingsway (A18) and some roundabouts.
The steep grassy bank, pictured above, between Brigg's Davy Memorial Playing Field and the A1084, Bigby Road, would be ideal for this purpose.
Such an extensive area of wild flowers would help the local bee population and our dwindling stock of native butterflies. Plus other insects.
The bushes at the other end of the playing field, near King's Avenue (see below), had far fewer butterflies feeding on them when we took this picture than we expected to find.
When we took a similar image a few years ago, there were dozens of them.

Butterflies are in decline across the UK, for various reasons, and could do with a helping hand.
Back in the 1960s, Brigg Urban District Council left this steep bank alone for a time and the flowers that grew there attracted many species of butterfly, including Painted Ladies and Red Admirals.
There would be a cost, of course, if Brigg in Bloom decided to seed wild flowers on the steep bank. Even what some gardeners might regard as weeds don't come cheap.
But North Lincolnshire Council would no longer need to cut what must be an awkward sloping area for workers to tackle.

There might even be an opportunity for a spot of sponsorship. 
We will mention our idea to Brigg Town Councillors involved with Brigg in Bloom.


 

4 comments:

Ken Harrison said...

I think it's is already been/being considered, Nige....but one must remember the potential contamination of crop fields.....although once seeded, the area should become self-serving...
Anyway, many folks regard a weed as a plant growing in the wrong place. In reality, with regard to the struggle within the survival of the fittest, any weed that grows has chosen the right place.
In contract, cultivated plants are artificially planted and are forced to grow in the wrong place.

Ken Harrison said...

Self-serving should read self-seeding....blinking predictive text thing again!!

Ken Harrison said...

Self-serving should read self-seeding....blinking predictive text thing again!!

Ken Harrison said...

Finally, you seem to have planted the seed, Nige.