Giving up with lawn... or am I?

Soldato
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And now... needs a cut but it's been a bit too wet the last few weeks but you can see there's lots of clover and although it's hard to make out there's loads of selfheal as well which are these nice little purple flowers
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Overall I would say it's been pretty interesting so far - I think it will continue to develop so will just see what happens. I definitely don't miss all the expense of maintaining it before just mow it once every 2-3 weeks and leave it alone, pick out anything that I dislike etc.

Curious to know what people think? Good, bad? I'm kind of in two minds some days I like it and others less so. It does still look pretty good when cut I will try to post a pic just after cutting it next
 
Soldato
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Not sure why you didn't just rake it and overseed it when it looked bare, rather than going to the trouble of actively planting "weeds" that have taken over most of the actual grass?

Because the 'weeds' are actually far, far better for encouraging nature I reckon.

There's a load of clover, buttercups and self-heal on my side lawn already. I wish I could say it's deliberate, but I think it looks nicer than just a sterile lawn anyway (let's face it - with grass like that, you might as well just have artificial! (Let's see how that goes down :D )) apart from when it starts to get a bit too long a straggly.

When you mow this 'wildflower lawn', what height do you mow at?
 
Soldato
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Not sure why you didn't just rake it and overseed it when it looked bare, rather than going to the trouble of actively planting "weeds" that have taken over most of the actual grass?

scarify, aerate and seed, top dress, water and BANG you have a lawn.

I did exactly this for 3 or 4 years in a row, in fact got a company to do it and they did it with proper petrol scarifier, aeration a nice thick layer of top dressing and overseeding. Didn't stop one bad winter turning it into what you see in the first pic (and cost me hundreds per time). It did look good I guess for a couple of months in the summer of each of those years, provided I mowed it practically every week... Just wanted to try something different
 
Soldato
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When you mow this 'wildflower lawn', what height do you mow at?

Pretty long from spring to summer, about 75mm / 3 inches and try to mow every 2-3 weeks as weather allows - that seems to give about enough time for any plants that are currently flowering to re-flower properly** (and be in-flower for a good 1-2 weeks). Then in the late Autumn with the final mow I cut it really short more like 1 inch or so (which is just what the website I got the plants from says to do)

Edit: ** And also you don't want to mow too low or you just end up mincing up the plants completely
 
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Soldato
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Ha! My lawn isn't flat enough to try to cut it an 1 inch. I'd end up scalping sections of it. :D

Even set to 3, there's one particular bit where the blade grounds if I forget.
 
Soldato
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And now... needs a cut but it's been a bit too wet the last few weeks but you can see there's lots of clover and although it's hard to make out there's loads of selfheal as well which are these nice little purple flowers
m7xSfmN.jpg
MP7V0BJ.jpg
Overall I would say it's been pretty interesting so far - I think it will continue to develop so will just see what happens. I definitely don't miss all the expense of maintaining it before just mow it once every 2-3 weeks and leave it alone, pick out anything that I dislike etc.

Curious to know what people think? Good, bad? I'm kind of in two minds some days I like it and others less so. It does still look pretty good when cut I will try to post a pic just after cutting it next
Looks shocking to me……no way id have that as my garden.
 
Soldato
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Looks shocking to me……no way id have that as my garden.

That's fair :D it's certainly not for everyone! As I say sometimes I find myself thinking the same. It does look extra messy in these pics though as like I say technically I was meant to mow it a week ago but it's been too wet - and once you let it go a bit too long things quickly get a little out of control and it looks a mess
 
Soldato
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That's fair :D it's certainly not for everyone! As I say sometimes I find myself thinking the same. It does look extra messy in these pics though as like I say technically I was meant to mow it a week ago but it's been too wet - and once you let it go a bit too long things quickly get a little out of control and it looks a mess

Not my cup of tea - looks like someone just cant be bothered to look after it and looks messy, clumpy and weedy.... ( i have seen some nice wildflower gardens on tv but i guess it needs more established)
 
Soldato
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What's wrong with cutting it weekly? It'll probably take 15 minutes?
it's crappy for the environment - locally speaking. If you're trying to help nature, you want stuff flowering. If you have a perfect lawn, mowed every week or tow, nothing ever does.
 
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Soldato
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Not my cup of tea - looks like someone just cant be bothered to look after it and looks messy, clumpy and weedy.... ( i have seen some nice wildflower gardens on tv but i guess it needs more established)

I think it's going to take quite a while to fully establish - I mean look at the "before" picture, and the state of the ground it's absolutely terrible. I am still reserving the option of tearing it all up and starting again with a different approach but I'm pretty sure to do a lawn properly I would need to get a mini digger and take it down a couple of foot, properly replace all the soil etc.

What's wrong with cutting it weekly? It'll probably take 15 minutes?

Cutting this lawn weekly? You could totally do it but you wouldn't get any flowering from the wildflowers. A lawn in general? I don't mind mowing every week at all (except for when the grass just dies anyway because of the terrible soil)
 
Soldato
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it's crappy for the environment - locally speaking. If you're trying to help nature, you want stuff flowering. If you have a perfect lawn, mowed every week or tow, nothing ever does.

I think there’s a balance to be struck between a lawn you/the family can use and having it look OK, it’s toll possible to have flowers etc to attract wildlife and actually some weeds do keep growing if you cut it high enough.

I thought the OP couldn’t be bothered to mow weekly but clearly that’s not the case :)
 
Soldato
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I think there’s a balance to be struck between a lawn you/the family can use and having it look OK, it’s toll possible to have flowers etc to attract wildlife and actually some weeds do keep growing if you cut it high enough.

I thought the OP couldn’t be bothered to mow weekly but clearly that’s not the case :)

Absolutely agree. I'm not saying you shouldn't have a sculpted lawn, just suggesting a reason why someone might want to let it be a bit more wild.
 
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