ACCORDING to your letters page recently, opinion is clearly divided on whether roadside verges should be kept neat and tidy or allowed to become natural and wildflower-friendly.

I suggest there is a middle way. A narrow strip of mown grass along the front of the verge – a “Cue for Care” – signifies to the passer-by that the whole verge is cared for and tells us that the maintenance is deliberate.

People no longer assume that the long grass is just a cost-cutting council failing to look after the roadside, visibility for road-users is maintained and, importantly, most of the verge can be left to flower naturally – providing forage for bees and space for wildlife.

This “Cues for Care” approach can be used in many similar situations. In urban parks, paths can be mown between wildflower meadow areas instead of close cropped lawns; strips of bedding plants can be used as edging round wild, natural planting schemes; neat stone edges can be placed around rotting log piles in woodland or a wildlife pond. It’s all in the design.

HARRIET STEWART-JONES, Victoria Crescent, Parkstone