Barnsley Main Heritage Group

10/06/2026

10/06/2026

Thousands of begonias. Two replacements a year. Fifteen days to plant them. Five rounds of weeding. Then they are all pulled out, discarded, and the whole cycle starts again.

Seasonal municipal bedding — begonias, pansies, petunias, busy lizzies — is the most widely used and least efficient model of urban green decoration in British towns. Each cycle lasts three to four months. Each cycle requires: purchasing plants, transport, planting, irrigation, feeding, weeding, then complete removal and disposal of plant material. Two or three times a year. The cost in labour hours, water, fuel, organic waste, and plants that live a single season and leave nothing in the soil is significant.

Several British councils have started changing this. The approach is straightforward: replace seasonal bedding with hardy perennials. Same surface area. The same or better ornamental value. But with stable, lasting ground cover that does not need to die every three months to look maintained.

The advantages go beyond appearance. A well-designed perennial border:

— dramatically reduces annual labour (no seasonal replacement, less weeding, less irrigation once established)
— eliminates the cycle of plant waste removed and disposed of two to three times a year
— provides flowering and ground cover across a much longer season than any bedding scheme
— attracts pollinators and beneficial insects, integrating biodiversity into ordinary maintenance
— protects soil from erosion and compaction

Species that work in full sun in British conditions: lavender, Salvia nemorosa, catmint (Nepeta), yarrow (Achillea), Geranium 'Rozanne', Sedum (Hylotelephium spectabile), Echinacea, Perovskia. For shade: Geranium macrorrhizum, Waldsteinia, Heuchera, Liriope, Pachysandra — the same species already recommended for the bases of street trees.

The shift from annuals to perennials is not a compromise on aesthetics. It is a rejection of a model that spends public money producing disposable beauty. 🌿

A planting that does not need to die every three months to look cared for is not a neglected planting. It is a planting designed to last.

08/06/2026

As it's the ten year anniversary of volunteers on site, we're having a couple of posts about achievements during that time. Here's the first - a few then and now pics.

02/06/2026

June is bursting out all over at Barnsley Main. Come and enjoy, on Oaks Lane. What3Words: wooden.cars.petty

25/05/2026

Having fun in the sun.🌞😎 Hey, how green is this Dearne Valley? Work goes on, making the site wonderful for everyone. Hope all our visitors enjoy their visit, and thanks for a much appreciated donation today. Museum open whilst we're on site, Mon and Thu 10 til 12, but come for a stroll at any time.

22/05/2026

As you enjoy your lovely weekend, spare a thought that on the 23rd May 1821, the day was in no way similar to what we appreciate today. Newspapers of the time reported that " On Wednesday morning a melancholy accident occurred at Silkstone, near Barnsley. Between nine and ten o'clock, eleven men employed in that colliery were ascending from one of the pits, and after having nearly reached the top, the brig gave way and the chain breaking, the whole were unfortunately precipitated to the bottom, a depth of nearly 60 yards, Six of them were killed, and the remainder so dreadfully injured as to leave but little hopes of their recovery. Most of the unfortunate sufferers have left families". The term 'men' used here is hopelessly inaccurate - the children and men killed are now commemorated by a stone recently erected in Cawthorne church yard. A recently published book, 'Descent into Silence' by David Hinchliffe tells the story of this awful event. Think of them today, they deserve to be remembered.