Quick Dips

Wildflower Project

Most people do their best to get rid of weeds and wildflowers, but DSIR's Grasslands Division has spent the last few years growing over 100 varieties.

The Wildflower Project may sound a strange topic for serious study, but Dr Bill Rumball believes it could provide a cheap means of controlling erosion, maintaining rare plant species and encouraging wildlife. The wildflowers were initially cultivated to provide a low-maintenance method of looking after waste space such as roadsides and golf course roughs. Mixtures of hardy, self-seeding species have been developed for a variety of regions and uses.

Rumball points out that, quite apart from the project's immediate aims, the wildflowers have value in and of themselves.

"Its immediate visual impact attracts attention, interest, and a better understanding of wider environmental values," he says.