VERGES and other open spaces across Monmouthshire will soon bloom with bee-friendly flowers.

Monmouthshire County Council has planted around 140 acres with flowers that will encourage bees and other "pollinators" such as butterflies and moths.

The council is changing the way it maintains green areas to create more habitats that are more bee and pollinator friendly.

That includes reducing the number of cuts to grass areas and only cut verges on A and B roads twice a year where it is safe to do so.

The council's landscape operations manager, Nigel Leaworthy, said: "There are 10 varieties and they should be flowering within the next two to three weeks."

Among the areas planted are the High Beech roundabout and part of the Castle Dell in Chepstow and the orchard area at St Dials in Monmouth.

The county council's new pollinator policy was officially signed by the authority's deputy leader Cllr Phil Hobson (Lib Dem, Larkfield) at the offices of Bees for Development in Monmouth.

Bees for Development, which helps people out of poverty in poor areas of the world through bee-keeping, organised a 700-signature petition in support of the new policy.

Cllr Hobson said: "Monmouthshire is a food-producing county and pollinators are a crucial part of the food chain.

"We have spent two years putting together the pollinator policy so that we get it absolutely right. "Where areas are planted we will put up the Bee-Friendly Monmouthshire logo so people know about it."

Nicola Bradbear of Bees for Development said: "Verges are one of the last unimproved types of land and are good for pollinators and good for other wildlife.