No mow May – or even better, no mow Summer

May is fast approaching when it is time to give our lawnmowers a rest. As our perception of a well kept garden starts with a nicely cut lawn, resisting the temptation to reach for the mower is going to be hard for most of us. So why should we do this?

#NoMowMay is a campaign initiative created by environmental charity, Plantlife in 2019, which encourages people and organisations to avoid mowing their lawns in May. The purpose of the campaign is to support biodiversity on our own doorstep and to encourage long grass and native wildflowers to bloom. It is a simple concept to get people to change their mowing habits. Not cutting your grass for a month is a great start, but it’s even better if you go further and don’t cut it for the entire summer. That way you can support insects in line with their life cycle.

You may ask does it really matter what we do with the lawn in our gardens? Absolutely! 97 per cent of British wildflower meadows have disappeared since the 1930s and many British pollinating insects are in decline. There are over 20 million gardens in the UK and together, they are larger than all national nature reserves combined, therefore, our gardens can play a vital part in reversing this trend.

Leaving areas of lawn uncut throughout the summer or only cutting parts can allow a greater diversity of plants to flourish, fertilise and seed, which in turn supports insects, birds and other species. Research has found that simple changes in mowing habits can result in enough nectar for ten times more bees and other pollinators. So if you mow less, the pollen count on your lawn will significantly increase and over time more plant species will arrive.

No need to let all the grass grow, in fact creating a range of grass lengths around your garden will have the biggest benefit for biodiversity. You can keep some areas short as pathways, and foraging areas for worm-eating birds. For the rest, let the grass grow a little longer, offering shelter to grasshoppers and other insects. Many moth and butterfly caterpillars feed on grasses.

If you want to go all out you could consider planting wildflower plugs into your lawn (include Bird’s-foot Trefoil, Selfheal, Clovers, Cowslip and Yarrow, etc.) and create log piles and deadwood near the perimeter to help overwintering for many insects. Cut the meadow once the flowers have set seed, this is usually towards the end of summer and remove any cuttings.

While we are doing this, we are actually creating a more sustainable and resilient environment. In hot summers, short lawns often bake and their ability to absorb water becomes limited. Letting your grass grow longer and allowing a mix of plants to flourish, helps the lawn to soak up more water and reduce water runoff. Longer grass has deeper roots, which makes it more resilient to dry spells and on top of that more carbon is captured and stored in the soil.

You can sign up and register your activity at plantlife.org.uk or you can simply leave your mower in the shed from 1 May and enjoy the show.

Reference:
Plantlife.org.uk
The Wildlife Trust and RHS – Wild about lawns