In this spring seasons, flowers are sprouting everywhere, artistically colouring the whole world, as they happily do every year.

Celandine in Wilrijk

It is every year a surprise to see the variety and diversity of flowers that lighten up our days. And it is not only the nature reserves and natural areas that contain this variety, a lot of it can easily be seen from the road.

Narrowleaf plantain in Grobbendonk

I know that roadsides get a fairly negative image through my research, as I study them in the less disturbed world of the mountains, where they show a strongly degraded ecosystem. In Belgium, however, they are amongst the most important areas of nature we have left.

Broom in Grobbendonk

Indeed, roadsides are only a degraded ecosystems. Yes, they only show a fraction of the possible flower diversity in our nature. But still, we should not forget about them, as they are the strongholds of nature within our cities and the much-needed connections between the remaining patches of ‘true’ nature.

Chickweed in Kontich, Antwerp