No Mow May

[sovietspybob]

I leave several areas of our garden pretty wild anyway so i don't bother, trying to get it back in control after a month of no cutting would be a right pain and it'd probably look scraggy for ages into the summer.

We have a robot mower as well so that'd really struggle if it gets too long

 

[Terminal_Boy]

All the grassy areas here need mowing, but we haven’t had a dry 48 hours in weeks. Will have to strim pathways through the grass in spots and call it good.

 

[adidan]

We do no mow most months, prefer a mainly wild garden with plenty of plants.

A square patch of dull doesn't attract much wildlife.

 

[The_Arbiter]

Encouraging wild life to enter your garden and then taking a strimmer to it just as they get settled, hmm. Extra points if you murder protected species like the slow worm.

 

[Terminal_Boy]

I have 2 hectares of meadows that only get cut once a year in early August and a similar amount of woodland, so I think trimming 30 square metres shouldn’t be an issue.

 

[Richie]

For those of you with artificial surfaces...remember green side up.



Note 'blackie' looking for worms and grubs.

A lot of houses around me have fake grass... What you said above, plus with me watching the male Great Tit flying into my nesting box with a grub in its beak for the female while she sits on the eggs, got me thinking how tough these birds will have it as more and more fake grass is installed thereby lowering the worms and grub levels they need to feed on. Also, their chicks will need it when they hatch... Kinda sad really

 

[krooton]

Would be better promoting more sustainable and natural gardens all year round rather than for just 1 month.

That's why I have started to overseed my crappy, 5-year old turfed lawn with a buttload of micro-clover.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

That's why I have started to overseed my crappy, 5-year old turfed lawn with a buttload of micro-clover.

Did the same in February. Most of it is now coming up, didn’t expect the seed to work so well. I’d love a lawn full of clover. Definitely didn’t expect it to come up where the grass/moss was thickest.

 

[Participant]

Militant wildflower conservationists annoy me. I know because my neighbour is one and always mentions it when we cut our field. I'm polite, but inwardly thinking - get your own wildflower meadow and mind your own ******* business.

 

[marinersfan]

No. I don't fancy playing surprise dog **** roulette.

 

[Diagro]

Robot mower. Sorry, won't stop it.

 

[adidan]

Would be better promoting more sustainable and natural gardens all year round rather than for just 1 month.

Besides the benefit of needing to do little to no mowing I much prefer having all sorts of birds rocking up in the garden.

 

[Brazo]

Like me, my brother had never heard of No Mow May. Upon learning of his neighbours worsening ill health (sadly cancer) he decided to cut said neighbours lawn as a favour when he was cutting his own.

Neighbour went ballistic!!

 

[mitch212k]

I hereby renounce my membership of no-mow May. I was only a member by virtue of laziness, rather than intent ..

 

[Blackjack Davy]

Militant wildflower conservationists annoy me. I know because my neighbour is one and always mentions it when we cut our field. I'm polite, but inwardly thinking - get your own wildflower meadow and mind your own ******* business.

God forbid if you don't agree the newspaper comments on gardening columns are full of them if you dare suggest otherwise you are the literal spawn of satan - its become yet another culture war the RHS has gone full woke lately a rubbish filled weedy patch won best garden at chelsea the most recent being hug a slug they're no longer a pest they're to be cherished and celebrated and shouldn't be vilified - if they're eating my lettuces they're going to get controlled thank you very much.

A wildflower meadow is fine if sown as such or ancient water meadows which were cultivated as such - an area of grass laft to grow in a field isn't a meadow its just a thistley scrub filled patch of rubbish.

Did the same in February. Most of it is now coming up, didn’t expect the seed to work so well. I’d love a lawn full of clover. Definitely didn’t expect it to come up where the grass/moss was thickest.

The picture postcard ideal rarely matches reality its just another green carpet with boring white flowers it loves the best spots and totally crowds out the grass had a huge patch which took ages to get rid of. Daisies I don't mind at least they look pretty and don't form a dense mat that excludes everything else.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Militant wildflower conservationists annoy me. I know because my neighbour is one and always mentions it when we cut our field. I'm polite, but inwardly thinking - get your own wildflower meadow and mind your own ******* business.

People are far too judgy these days.

On the topic at hand, I’m so pleased and actually quite surprised at how well our clover seed came up. Some places took better than others, but considering I did no ground prep and just chucked it down, I’m impressed. Most importantly it’s taken pretty much everywhere, so even where less dense will do doubt spread.

This was the newly seeded lawn patch put down in February:

 

[Lumeycom]

The cynic in me sees this as a way for councils to save a bit of cash by leaving everything get in a proper state during may.

 

[adidan]

Some see a 'proper state', others see habitats and feeding areas for wildlife. If it saves councils money too, bonus.

I personally hate over manicured gardens and green areas.

 

[Werewolf]

No mow may you say?

That works out well, as i've not had much of a chance to cut the lawn this year (between my father being ill and the council taking until mid april to send out or "garden waste" permit).
Mind you our "lawn" in the back is rather more of a "green", as in it's mainly different shades of green at the best of time largely due to shade, damp and the fact that every few years it floods slightly and that invariably reseeds it with a load of wildflowers and the like so It's not really worth the effort to try and keep it as grass.

I was dealing with the ivy out the front the other day and we've not mowed that yet so it's got a lot of insects in it, including a bunch of different bees (I think I counted at least 3 or 4 types), so whilst the front will get mowed much sooner than the back, it's not getting done for a week.

 

[200sols]

The cynic in me sees this as a way for councils to save a bit of cash by leaving everything get in a proper state during may.

That's one advantage yes...