No mow May?
Are neatly edged, beautifully striped lawns a male obsession? And are they doing a great deal of harm? There is a growing trend amongst both gardeners and ecologists to rethink our fondness for manicured lawns, and to persuade us put the lawn mower away for the month of May, if not for ever.
You may have seen in a recent Gardeners’ World programme that Monty Don has given up on lawns entirely and left all his grass to grow long except for paths mown through. It was pointed out that, in the past, just the very rich could afford to have closely cut grass, thanks to servants wielding scythes. Only the invention of the lawn mower in 1830 (first manual models then petrol and electric) made lawns possible in every garden, but alongside came all the problems that are now beginning to be seen.
I don’t think that anyone can deny that mowing a lawn is a noisy business and causes carbon emissions. Added to that, in order to keep the grass growing uniformly, green and strong, we add weedkiller, pesticides and fertiliser, either ourselves or by using a lawn care company. These chemicals eventually run off into the environment causing pollution, particularly if we water our grass to keep it green - another problem in areas of water shortage.
All good reasons to give up on lawns. However, what a terrible thought that is! My garden is almost entirely planned around beds and borders designed to be seen against a neat carpet of green. The transformation that takes place once the lawn is mown is fantastic, the garden looks so much better, more peaceful and, for some odd reason, larger.
However, the evidence mounts up that giving up mowing a lawn has positive benefits, certainly for diversity and wildlife. The British Ecological Society has looked at a range of research projects which show that “Even a modest reduction in lawn mowing frequency can bring a host of environmental benefits: increased pollinators, increased plant diversity and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, a longer, healthier lawn makes it more resistant to pests, weeds, and drought events.” said Dr Chris Watson, lead author of the study.
Is the answer to learn to love a wildflower meadow and let the grass grow long? The charity Plantlife certainly think so. Since the 1930’s a staggering 97% of wildflower meadows have been lost in Britain. Hand in hand with that goes loss of insect life, many of which are pollinators. Who can remember the days when, if you left the window open over-night in the summer, your bedroom would fill with insects? Or, when taking a drive in the countryside in the summer, you would be going through clouds of insects which would be splattered over the front of the bonnet and windscreen?
Plantlife, a British conservation charity working nationally and internationally to save threatened wild flowers, plants and fungi, has found that the best way to increase insect diversity is to adopt a “mohican” approach to our grass cutting:
cutting grass once every four weeks which gives plants like daisies and white clover a chance to flower in profusion, boosting nectar production tenfold.
leaving areas of longer unmown grass where a more diverse range of flowers can thrive, to provide nectar sources for different pollinators and to extend nectar production into late summer.
To this end Plantlife have introduced “No Mow May” to encourage us to ditch the lawn mower (and the weedkiller, I guess) during the month of May, and at the end of the month from 23rd to 31st take part in Every Flower Counts by counting the number of flowers in a random square metre of your lawn.
Shall I give it a go? I’m sceptical about how the garden will look, and my 3 year long attempt at getting a wild flower meadow going has not produced much more than long grass so far. However, a month isn’t a huge commitment and if even the National Trust are promoting this initiative, it must be a look that can be adapted to a typical English country garden. Apparently No Mow May is going to be trialled in parts of Sissinghurst and, even nearer to home, Marden Congregational Church will be leaving a section of their grass uncut.
I am going to give it a go too…
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