COLOURFUL wildflowers scattered along the roadside verges of Oxfordshire will lift the spirits of commuters, a Witney gardener has said.

Richard MacKenzie wants permission from Oxfordshire County Council to plant thousands of bright wildflowers alongside the county’s roads, starting with Jubilee Way in his home town, to bring happiness into peoples lives.

The owner of gardening firm Witney Gardener, 36-year-old Mr MacKenzie, said gardening helped save his life after he suffered from bad depression and anxiety several years ago.

He said: “We have thousands of miles of roadside verges in Oxfordshire and we can’t afford to mow them all.

“Some of them have to be cut because of road safety but there are some which we can leave. For some of the main commuter roads to have beautiful flowers would bring a bit of happiness to people's days.”

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Father-of-one Mr Mackenzie, who studied at Abingdon and Witney College, has already grabbed the attention of council leader Ian Hudspeth via Twitter with his plans.

Mr Hudspeth said: “I will be meeting with Richard in the new year to see what the potential is.

“Interestingly enough approximately 30 per cent of calls to our customer service centre during one period over the summer were from people saying we were cutting the grass too much. People wanted to see wild flowers.”

Mr MacKenzie added: “We’re not proposing the council spend any money. It would save them money, which would be amazing. All we need is their permission. Then we will start crowd-funding and getting sponsorship from local businesses. Witney Bees have already offered support.

“It will be a real community involvement. So every year when people drive past patches of wildflowers in the spring they can think ‘I helped with that’.”

Mr Mackenzie added that it costs about £30 to £40 for a bag of wildflower seed and to cover the mile-long stretch of Jubilee Way it would take about five bags.

He said: “It will be good for the butterflies and bees and other insects which then is good for food for the birds. It really helps bio-diversity."

Mr Mackenzie set up Witney Gardener to helping people maintain their gardens, create homes for wildlife and grow fresh vegetables.

He also works in organic food production and hosts a gardening-themed show "Life on the Lottie" on Witney Radio.