‘No mow’ May

Why is ‘no mow’ May important?? In a world full of pesticides and plastic grass, we’re fast running out of nature friendly spaces for insects to do their important work and to continue to thrive. Watching David Attenborough’s Wild Isles about insects recently, I was pretty shocked to hear how depleted many of our species actually are. So it’s great to be able to actually do something that can help a multitude of species to thrive. Not just insects but all sorts of important wildlife.

What does it involve?

So what does ‘no mow’ May involve? Simple as it sounds, not mowing your lawn and allowing the weeds to grow. If you usually have a neat and tidy lawn and weed free garden, this might feel a little bit scary and unusual. Soy my advice would be to take an area of the garden, if the whole thing feels too much to do this time around. Have a space where you commit to no mowing, and let the ‘weeds’ take over. Make it a chance to watch out for wildlife this month, see if you can spot new insects to your garden. Maybe you could count how many butterflies or bees you get this month and see if this is different during normal month. You might surprise yourself and leave this patch for further months, if not forever! Add your own wildflower seeds if you feel able to and see them flourish.

If you don’t have a garden or allotment to allow to grow, then you might consider just allowing a pot or two to grow wild. Have a watch of Wild Isles or listen to Sheila Das from RHS Wisley, speaking on Radio 5 live with Adrian Chiles all about ‘weeds’ and our changing relationship with them, the program aired on 25th April 2023, listen from: 1:21.

Share your ‘no mow’ pics

Have you tried ‘no mow’ May before? How do you feel about it and has it changed your relationship with ‘weeds”?? We’d love to know, plus if you feel like sharing your ‘no mow’ gardens and pots, let us know and we can share your pics.