Council "weed" removal

[Sue]

Every year council workers come round and remove "weeds" from pavements.

These "weeds" are wild flowers which as well as brightening up the urban environment attract pollinating insects including bees.

Can someone explain to me what is the purpose of this removal?

The plants do not seem to be causing any kind of obstruction to pedestrians, and they make my walks around the area more pleasant. Or had done.

It seems a bit odd that on the one hand the council are deliberately planting areas of wild flowers (eg on Goose Green, albeit not apparently maintaining them very well) and/or apparently letting previously cultivated areas go wild (eg on Goose Green roundabout) but on the other hand they are paying employees to come round and remove wild flowers.

Why? Am I missing something here?

I came out the other day to find a small pile of flowering  Toadflax and Alkanet outside my house. I was totally bemused until a neighbour told me the reason.

[cookie]

Oh, so that was the council.  Someone ripped some lovely flowering Toadflax from our wall and threw it in the gutter.  I assumed that a child had done it.  How strange?

[Sue]

13 minutes ago, cookie said:

Oh, so that was the council.  Someone ripped some lovely flowering Toadflax from our wall and threw it in the gutter.  I assumed that a child had done it.  How strange?

Yes, at first I assumed that the bin men had taken flowering plants from my front garden while getting at my brown food bin, instead of reaching over the wall.

I was very confused as I couldn't see any obvious gaps.

Surely taking Toadflax from a resident's wall is not part of the council's remit?

What next, are they going to come round and trim hedges in front gardens?

🤬

[LordshipPain]

If weeds are allowed to grow for too long they lift pavements and create obvious tripping hazards. Obviously removing them from your wall and/or garden is unacceptable. 

Edited Saturday at 08:55 by LordshipPain
Was a bit harsh on the commenter.

[Jenijenjen]

They often grow in the angle between wall and pavement which could cause damage to the foundation of the wall and leave the council open to being sued.

[kiera]

I agree that I enjoy seeing the variety of wild flowers growing naturally in the streets and would much prefer that they were not destroyed. (The South London Botanical Institute actually conduct wildflower identification walks on street wild flowers.) However, as the council consider themselves to be responsible for removing these plants, it's better that they now dig them out rather than spraying them with toxic herbicide, as they used to do - a step in the right direction.

[malumbu]

I've got more problems with people paving over their gardens, plastic grass and the like.  Perhaps see what Southwark say on line about managing their pavements.

[Mabaker]

Sue. It's a long journey trying to change the long established mindset that many of us grew up with, namely cultivated flowers are good and wild flowers anywhere other than in the wild are bad. My job as a child was to go round pulling up all the dandelions that dared to invade my Dad's pride and joy of a garden. I still battle with my Mum, trying in vain to convince her of the benefits of so called weeds in her garden. Her neighbours, all of a certain age, are the same. Anyone who doesn't attack any weed with gusto is the subject of Mum's disapproving neighbours. We can only keep trying to convince others of the benefits of these much maligned flowers.

 

[Jenijenjen]

Genuine question- are wild flowers/weeds better for wildlife than cultivated flowers? My cultivated flowers and their seeds attract birds, bees and all kinds of insects, maybe more so than wild flowers.

[Mabaker]

Good question. I think the benefit of some wild flowers is that they appear earlier in the spring and provide nectar for insects coming out of hibernation. Also, natives have evolved with the insects, some of which can only survive with certain native plants. For example, some species of  caterpillars need a specific native plant for their food. Having said that, I've seen lots of pollinators having a field day on some non native flowers. My bees love my verbena bonariensis for example.

[Penguin68]

Generally wild flowers which are indigenous to the UK are more likely to be supporting more wild life than introduced species, more commonly found in gardens, simply because wild life hasn't had time to adapt to it. Although of course many introductions which flower will be supporting pollinators more generally. (This would also be true of native as opposed to introduced tree and scrub species).

And I suspect plants which are flowering over public space, even if rooted on private property, are being removed to stop them setting seed in public space. [Although many might see that as a good thing if the plants have merits of their own]. 

Edited Saturday at 17:14 by Penguin68

[ianr]

Alas, poor Toadflax!  And gentle Alkanet.

Edited Saturday at 16:22 by ianr

[Sue]

15 hours ago, malumbu said:

I've got more problems with people paving over their gardens, plastic grass and the like.  Perhaps see what Southwark say on line about managing their pavements.

True. 

And I'll have a look online.

21 hours ago, LordshipPain said:

If weeds are allowed to grow for too long they lift pavements and create obvious tripping hazards. Obviously removing them from your wall and/or garden is unacceptable. 

Thank you for the explanation.

I have just googled, and that is indeed the case with certain weeds.

I had no idea that this could happen, so thank you.

 

 

The below is apparently all Southwark Council has to say. They don't say why they remove weeds, just that they do, and how.

They've got a lot more to say about Japanese Knotweed, which does indeed cause problems, but which they don't remove!

However I've never noticed any round here.

 

Edited yesterday at 06:44 by Sue

[Penguin68]

49 minutes ago, Sue said:

They've got a lot more to say about Japanese Knotweed, which does indeed cause problems, but which they don't remove!

However I've never noticed any round here.

There was a lot in Camberwell Old Cemetery. 

[malumbu]

Bindweed is my least favourite weed.  Probably another pretty flower like knotweed and Himalayan balsam that were introduced by the Victorians I expect 

[Sue]

39 minutes ago, malumbu said:

Bindweed is my least favourite weed.  Probably another pretty flower like knotweed and Himalayan balsam that were introduced by the Victorians I expect 

I have never noticed bindweed on pavements, but it's an absolute sod on my allotment.

That and couch grass 🤬

Edited yesterday at 13:46 by Sue

[malumbu]

No Himalayan balsam on the pavement either but bindweed is everywhere including parks and cemeteries as well as many domestic gardens