The cost of a beautiful, healthy garden, filled with verdant grass, is surprisingly steep – as gardeners well know.
There are the bugs to contend with, then the weather, then the surprisingly complex question of when (and how much) to mow.
On that last question, though, institutions like the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) say some gardeners might be able to take it easy for the next few weeks.
No-mow May, a month in which people are encouraged to leave their grass well alone (helping wildlife and the growth of wild flowers in the process) has been employed by everyone from gardening legend Monty Don to multiple councils.
But what is no-mow May, and why should you wait so late to rev your mower back up?
It was invented by Plantlife
The term, first coined and popularised by Plantlife, is an “annual campaign urging everyone to pack away the lawnmower, let wildflowers grow freely and help nature.”
The RHS says that the wildflowers no mow May encourage will help to feed struggling pollinators, offering shelter to a range of animals too.
It can be adopted both in urban and rural gardens; native wildflowers flourish in “poor” soil, like that found outside a lot of new build homes.
The RHS adds that you don’t have to leave the whole garden untrimmed – you can simply leave a corner unmown.
Monty Don, who calls the riotous growth the trend creates “beautiful,” says he doesn’t pick the trimmer back up until late June.
“Nothing should be cut at all until after the longest day on June 21st,” he shares, stating that he sometimes puts the task off until August.
This, he says, helps to “maximise the performance of the bulbs next spring and of the grasses themselves.”
Some Royal Gardens only mow once a year
Some Royal Gardens, like Greenwich Park, only cut their acidic grasslands once a year to help it reach “its full ecological potential.”
Kensington Palace Gardens contains a wildflower meadow too, left unrtrimmed through the warmer months in order to benefit “pollinators and other insects who sometimes struggle to find food and shelter in the big city.”
Previously, Natasha Dix, the Isle Of Wight’s director for waste environment and planning, said: “The urgency lies in the threat to the world’s bee population. By allowing lawns to bloom, even for just a month, we actively support our local bees and contribute to the broader biodiversity structures that play a critical role in maintaining balance.
“I encourage everyone to participate in this meaningful endeavour. Let’s unleash the power of wildflowers.”
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