0:00:24 > 0:00:29Wild flowers native to the UK have endured a steep decline over
0:00:29 > 0:00:33the last 70 years and that means not only the loss of the flowers
0:00:33 > 0:00:37themselves, but also habitats for animals and insects.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40In England alone, we've lost an astonishing
0:00:40 > 0:00:43three million acres of wild flower meadows,
0:00:43 > 0:00:47taking some colour from our landscape and upsetting
0:00:47 > 0:00:53a food chain that supports a huge variety of plants and animals.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56And it's not just the amount of farmland that's had an impact -
0:00:56 > 0:00:59it's the way we farm too.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02Here at the Millennium Seed Bank, it's Ted Chapman's job
0:01:02 > 0:01:05to preserve the wild flowers we have for the future.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08This is a wet meadow or fen,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11- looking pretty glorious at this time of year.- Looks lovely.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13So, farming's been getting a lot of the blame,
0:01:13 > 0:01:15but how does that actually work?
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Well, I think probably the key culprits there are
0:01:18 > 0:01:22modern fertilisers and herbicides, which favours the grass
0:01:22 > 0:01:24but it certainly doesn't favour the wild flowers.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26And how bad is the loss?
0:01:26 > 0:01:29It's been pretty catastrophic, to be frank.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33We've lost 97% of our species-rich wild flower meadows.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35This is since the Second World War.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39It's probably slowed a little now, but we really need to work hard
0:01:39 > 0:01:44to prevent that further deterioration and reverse that decline.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47The statistics are pretty stark.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Of around 1,400 wild plants in Britain,
0:01:50 > 0:01:5445 are classed as critically endangered.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56101 species are endangered
0:01:56 > 0:02:00and 307 species are listed as vulnerable.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04That means about a third of our wild plants
0:02:04 > 0:02:07are edging towards extinction.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14Feels like the Secret Garden!
0:02:14 > 0:02:16'Behind the scenes, Ted and his colleagues are going to
0:02:16 > 0:02:21'extraordinary lengths to stop our wild flowers disappearing forever.'
0:02:21 > 0:02:24By the look of it, we've got a mixture of the quite rampant
0:02:24 > 0:02:29- and the very rare here.- Yeah. We've got some spring beauties here.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31You started with the cowslip.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33This will be reasonably familiar to many people.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36It's declining but it's not too endangered yet.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40Really important food plant for butterflies. So, we mustn't lose it.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44Next, we've got this lovely plant. This is the pasque flower.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48Really associated with old, undisturbed, chalky grassland.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51And it's just become so rare, so fragmented,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54you'd be very lucky to see it in the wild.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56And finally, we've got this one here. Tell me about this.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58This is a particular favourite of mine.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01This is the spiked rampion, the Rapunzel flower.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04- And this is a very rare species. - Great name - Rapunzel flower.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07When you say "Very rare", what do you mean?
0:03:07 > 0:03:11There are less than 300 of these surviving in the wild, we think.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14- Less than 300 plants?- Less than 300 plants in the wild.- That's tiny!
0:03:14 > 0:03:18And the fact that there are such small numbers means it's in real
0:03:18 > 0:03:24danger of becoming extinct in the UK unless we act fast to save it.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29'Bringing each new seedling to life is a delicate operation.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31'And Ted's trusting me to pot one.'
0:03:31 > 0:03:33It feels like quite a responsibility
0:03:33 > 0:03:35if there are only 300 of these in the wild.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38There are 50 in there. I think I got that one OK.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44'The work they're doing at the Millennium Seed Bank is vital,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47'not just for preserving rare and endangered species of wild
0:03:47 > 0:03:51'flowers, but to ensure the future of the creatures that rely on them.'
0:03:51 > 0:03:55Those wild flowers are the basis of the ecosystem.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58'Pete Burgess is a conservation manager for the Wildlife Trust,
0:03:58 > 0:04:00'here in Devon.'
0:04:00 > 0:04:03We've seen big reductions in the abundance of some
0:04:03 > 0:04:07of our butterflies, over the past 50 years,
0:04:07 > 0:04:11real significant loss of greater horseshoe bat populations
0:04:11 > 0:04:13and they rely on all of those insects
0:04:13 > 0:04:16which are coming from all of those pastures.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20'For Pete, there's no question - the decline in insects and even
0:04:20 > 0:04:24'other larger animals is linked to the disappearance of wild flowers.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27'But though many see farming as part of the problem,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31'he thinks it's also a vital part of the solution.'
0:04:31 > 0:04:34It's crucial that this area is farmed.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38We've got to maintain that balance between the biodiversity
0:04:38 > 0:04:41and the production side of things.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44It's essential that we get that balance absolutely right.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Too little and this site would revert back to something
0:04:47 > 0:04:50- that's less wildlife rich.- So, you don't want to just let it go back
0:04:50 > 0:04:52to nature? That's not necessarily good for wild flowers?
0:04:52 > 0:04:53Absolutely not, no.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57We're reliant on agriculture, we're reliant on farming to maintain
0:04:57 > 0:05:00- what are cultural habitats.- It's quite a subtle balance, isn't it?
0:05:00 > 0:05:02It is. Absolutely.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05You've got to get that level just right in these sorts of areas.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07So, if you let this go without any farming,
0:05:07 > 0:05:10the bracken would dominate first, then trees would come up.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Bracken would be the first thing that would really invade.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16The bracken would create this dense litter layer,
0:05:16 > 0:05:19and all of those really rich wild flowers just wouldn't be able
0:05:19 > 0:05:21to get through that bracken layer.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24So, we've got to cherish the farming and cherish the flowers as well.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28Absolutely. It's getting that balance perfectly right.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32'Farmers in Britain directly manage more than 200,000 acres of fields
0:05:32 > 0:05:37'and field margins across the country where wild flowers can grow.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41'But we don't have to rely on farmland.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45'Across the UK there are plenty of other green spaces we could use.'
0:05:45 > 0:05:48TRAFFIC ROARS
0:05:48 > 0:05:50This little verge alone
0:05:50 > 0:05:53has two nationally rare plant species growing on it.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57'As founder of the wild plant charity Plantlife,
0:05:57 > 0:05:59'Andy Byfield thinks roadside verges
0:05:59 > 0:06:02'are the perfect vehicle for wild flowers.'
0:06:02 > 0:06:06- Can verges really be good for - wild flowers? Oh, absolutely, Tom.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08I mean, for starters, two thirds
0:06:08 > 0:06:12of all our flowering plants occur
0:06:12 > 0:06:15on verges somewhere in Britain, which is a staggering total.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19It's extraordinary, really, that, in what is such a barren habitat,
0:06:19 > 0:06:21that you can get these flowers. But I'm learning that's the point
0:06:21 > 0:06:24with wild flowers, they quite like it infertile, in a way, don't they?
0:06:24 > 0:06:29Oh, absolutely. All these plants want is bare ground, short turf,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32open patches when they come to seed,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35so it's no different from your allotment or my garden.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38'As well as being an ideal habitat,
0:06:38 > 0:06:42'these man-made corridors do a lot of the work for Mother Nature, too.'
0:06:42 > 0:06:45So much of the British countryside is a tiny meadow here,
0:06:45 > 0:06:47a tiny meadow tens of miles away.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51It's become so fragmented, the plants in those places,
0:06:51 > 0:06:55and indeed animals in those places, can't really get from A to B to C,
0:06:55 > 0:06:57but here, of course, what we're getting is the cars
0:06:57 > 0:06:59coming down the road at high speed,
0:06:59 > 0:07:03and what they do in their slipstream is just drag all the seed
0:07:03 > 0:07:06from this junction to the next junction and beyond.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09So, that's brilliant... Just like seeds catching in the fur of animals
0:07:09 > 0:07:12as they move around, they get moved in the slipstream of the cars?
0:07:12 > 0:07:16And carrying really very rare things up and down the verges.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20'Plantlife believes verges and the edges of railway lines
0:07:20 > 0:07:23'are also the most viewed habitats in the country.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26It's recently launched a campaign to make councils aware
0:07:26 > 0:07:30'of the huge potential for growing wild flowers.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33'Here in Devon, in just one district,
0:07:33 > 0:07:36'the council manages over 1,000 acres of roadside verges.'
0:07:36 > 0:07:39If you multiply that across the whole country,
0:07:39 > 0:07:43that's a vast area of potential wild flower habitat.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46'Something environment manager Peter Chamberlain
0:07:46 > 0:07:48'is taking full advantage of.'
0:07:48 > 0:07:50So, why have you brought me here?
0:07:50 > 0:07:52I've brought you to one of Devon County Council's
0:07:52 > 0:07:56special verge sites, one of 100 or so of our better verges
0:07:56 > 0:07:58- that we have around the county. - And what's so special about it?
0:07:58 > 0:08:00If we take a look at this verge here,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03we've got a stunning display of spring flowers just in front of us,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06- a lovely group of early purple orchids...- That's these ones here?
0:08:06 > 0:08:09..and some glorious primroses. Yes, this is the early purple orchid.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13And a lovely display of primroses in flower for us out in the open here.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16They are quite beautiful. I can see one or two of the orchids here,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19and I'm no plant expert, but looking at those I'd think,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22"That's unusual, not something I expect to see out the car window."
0:08:22 > 0:08:25- That's right.- So, what are you doing, or perhaps not doing, here
0:08:25 > 0:08:28- that enables them to grow?- Over the whole of our road network,
0:08:28 > 0:08:30which is almost 13,000km in length,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33we've adopted a policy where we would only regularly cut
0:08:33 > 0:08:35the first metre of a verge.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38The remainder of a width of a verge would be left
0:08:38 > 0:08:40and be cut only every two or three years,
0:08:40 > 0:08:43therefore allowing a range of lengths of grassland
0:08:43 > 0:08:45to develop over the verge.
0:08:45 > 0:08:4613,000km?
0:08:46 > 0:08:49One of the greatest road lengths of any highway authority,
0:08:49 > 0:08:51so it is a massive length
0:08:51 > 0:08:53and a massive area of habitat that we're managing.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56So, it's really important that we do get it right.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59'From local councils to the Highways Agency,
0:08:59 > 0:09:01'the people who manage British roads
0:09:01 > 0:09:04'are starting to take notice of this potential.'
0:09:04 > 0:09:08The classic chocolate box image of a floaty flower meadow
0:09:08 > 0:09:13may sadly be vanishingly rare, but, with a bit of care and compromise,
0:09:13 > 0:09:17we can provide great habitats for wild flowers
0:09:17 > 0:09:21that fit with our 21st-century town and country.