NO MOW MAY
Free the wildflowers and liberate your lawn
An annual campaign from Plantlife, No Mow May is asking all garden owners and green space managers not to mow during the month of May. To liberate your lawns and provide a space for nature, a feast for pollinators, tackle pollution, and lock away atmospheric carbon below ground.
Should I take part?
According to Plantlife, "We’ve lost nearly 97% of flower rich meadows since the 1970’s and with them gone are vital food needed by pollinators, like bees and butterflies.
A healthy lawn with some long grass and wildflowers benefits wildlife, tackles pollution and can even lock away carbon below ground – and best of all, to reap these benefits all you have to do is not mow your lawn in May!
With over 20 million gardens in the UK, even the smallest grassy patches add up to a significant proportion of our land which, if managed properly, can deliver enormous gains for nature, communities and the climate. This is why Plantlife is calling for people to get involved with #NoMowMay and let wild plants get a head start on the summer."
What happens after May?
Once your lawn has grown long, it shouldn't be mowed back down too short immediately for fear of damaging the grass. Go with the rule of thirds, and only mow it a third lower at time.
Plantlife encourages "everyone gardening for nature to cut less for longer. Results from our previous No Mow May surveys show that keeping two to three different lengths of grass throughout the summer will maximise the diversity and quantity of flowers and the nectar they produce:
Leave some areas of long grass completely unmown all year to let taller flowers like Oxeye Daisy and Field Scabious come into bloom. These long grasses provide valuable feeding material, shelter, and nesting sites for species such as hedgehogs and toads – connecting them across our landscape.
Mid length ‘meadow’ areas are mown with cuttings collected just 2-3 times per year outside of April-August. They allow taller growing summer flowers to flourish like Meadow Cranesbill, Musk Mallow, knapweeds and scabiouses.
For the rest of the lawn, you can keep the grass shorter by mowing once every month to a height of 1 or 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm). This allows smaller plants such as daisies and Bird’s-foot-trefoil to flower in profusion, providing a fabulous food source.
Sign up to No Mow May to receive our comprehensive lawn guide written by Plantlife wildflower experts."
Join the #NoMowMay movement at https://www.plantlife.org.uk/nomowmay
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Sources:
https://www.plantlife.org.uk/campaigns/nomowmay/
A KIND CLOTH is in no way affiliated with any of the aforementioned organisations in this post.