I don’t know about you, but my garden has exploded to life the last month or so. As we reach tentatively into the warmer part of the year, the brown and twiggy areas have become lush and green once more, the trees are dressed in their finest verdant green, and the grass has sprung up with a vengeance. Everything is waking up, including all the wildlife, and I saw my first honeybee buzzing about only a few weeks ago, with many more following suit since!
In light of this return for nature, Plantlife has again launched their yearly campaign for “No Mow May”, an initiative that encourages anyone with a lawn to refrain from cutting it over this month. We all like a tidy lawn, and many folks have probably been itching to get out there after the cold winter and rainy spring, waiting for the first sunny days to finally cut the grass down to size. Consider, however, that all our little bug friends have also been waiting all that time too, and frankly, must be starving!
Leaving your lawn to grow for the month will mean more flowers, more pollinators, and thus, more insects! Since the 1970’s we’ve lost around 96% of our flowers and meadows in the UK, which has had a huge effect on our natural biodiversity. Not only that, but the result of not mowing is something quite beautiful. My lawn is a lovely collection of daisies, buttercups, dead-nettles, and even a few clusters of cowslips, which all look fantastic and colourful while simultaneously doing a lot of good for the local wildlife.
I have to admit that the first week of May was particularly difficult, what with the weather being so fine, and I had the itch to go and give it a little trim. …Just a little one! Now I’m so pleased I held fast, seeing all the tiny creatures flitting about from one flower to the next and enjoying the abundance of food and shelter that keeping my lawnmower in the shed has resulted in.
More and more people are deciding to scrap their grass entirely, opting instead for paving, gravel, and even Astro Turf – especially since the severe drought last summer and the resulting brown, crispy lawns that resulted from it. That’s why if someone has a grassy area they’re responsible for, whether in the garden or out in communal spaces, it’s even more important that we help mother nature along where we can and wait for these few weeks to let things grow.
Both Sir David Attenborough and Monty Don have come out in support for No Mow May, and if it’s good enough for them, then it’s good enough for me!
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