{"id":22663,"date":"2023-05-18T15:34:41","date_gmt":"2023-05-18T13:34:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gardensillustrated.com\/?p=106880"},"modified":"2023-05-18T16:35:21","modified_gmt":"2023-05-18T14:35:21","slug":"think-no-mow-may-is-not-for-you-try-these-neat-ideas","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/rss_feed\/think-no-mow-may-is-not-for-you-try-these-neat-ideas\/","title":{"rendered":"Think \u2018No Mow May\u2019 is not for you? Try these neat ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Worried that No Mow May will turn your garden into an unmanageable mess? Here are some ways that you can embrace the ‘No Mow’ concept while keeping your garden acceptably neat. <\/p>

By Veronica Peerless\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 18 May 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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No Mow May<\/a> encourages gardeners to leave their mowers in the shed<\/a> and transform their lawns into havens of biodiversity. The campaign was started in 2019 by the conservation charity Plantlife, and has been embraced by millions, who share images of their buzzing and beautiful \u2018liberated lawns\u2019 on social media. According to Plantlife, 92 per cent of people surveyed by Plantlife last year said they didn\u2019t mow their lawns in May, an increase of 30 per cent.<\/p>\n

But not everyone is on board. There\u2019s a distinct cohort of gardeners who will have nothing to do with the concept of No Mow May.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hardly surprising, as mowing is deeply embedded in the UK psyche<\/a>. As author, podcaster and gardening coach, Andrew Timothy O\u2019Brien, points out in his book To Stand and Stare<\/em><\/a>: \u201cGrass is supposed to be green, and when it isn\u2019t, there\u2019s something wrong that. We are trained to be distrustful of grass when it gets long, counselled against letting it grow under our feet and encouraged to view it as a metaphorical wilderness.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is clearly borne out on the Gardens Illustrated<\/em> website \u2013 while our feature on No Mow May<\/a> is our most popular piece of content at this time of year, our article on ride-on mowers<\/a> is not far behind.<\/p>\n

So if you want to help wildlife<\/a> but are struggling to embrace the concept of No Mow May, here are some ideas you could try.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t stop mowing completely<\/h3>\n
No Mow May is not necessarily about stopping mowing completely. Behind the attention-grabbing title is a simple concept: to get people to change their habits so that they mow less. Few of us are going to be comfortable with a lawn that merges messily into our borders<\/a> and looks completely unkempt. Do what you feel comfortable with, and take it from there. Use No Mow May to experiment a little.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re worried about what the neighbours are going to think, Plantlife offer a range of printable posters<\/a> explaining what you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n
Mow less<\/h3>\n
If you can\u2019t bring yourself to leave the mower behind for the whole of May, just mow less. Cutting just once a month encourages the maximum number of flowers to grow in your lawn.<\/p>\n
Set your mower at a higher height<\/h3>\n
$\""Bird's\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>

Set your mower at a higher height<\/h3>\n
$\""Bird's\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>

Start small<\/h3>\n
Why not just let a one or two areas of lawn grow longer? Even one square-metre patch of lawn has been shown to produce enough nectar to support almost four honey bees<\/a> per day.<\/p>\n

Start with an area that is out of sight or tricky to mow<\/h3>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
$\""An\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>

Create definition<\/h3>\n
$\""Path\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>

Mow paths or routes around the garden<\/h3>\n
Mow different routes in long grass instantly gives definition and a new way of moving around your garden. Just let the width of your mower<\/a> dictate the width of your path, and go where the fancy takes you.<\/p>\n

Start small<\/h3>\nWhy not just let a one or two areas of lawn grow longer? Even one square-metre patch of lawn has been shown to produce enough nectar to support almost four honey bees<\/a> per day.<\/p>\n

Mow paths or routes around the garden<\/h3>\nMow different routes in long grass instantly gives definition and a new way of moving around your garden. Just let the width of your mower<\/a> dictate the width of your path, and go where the fancy takes you.<\/p>\n

Start small<\/h3>\n
Why not just let a one or two areas of lawn grow longer? Even one square-metre patch of lawn has been shown to produce enough nectar to support almost four honey bees<\/a> per day.<\/p>\n

Mow paths or routes around the garden<\/h3>\n
Mow different routes in long grass instantly gives definition and a new way of moving around your garden. Just let the width of your mower<\/a> dictate the width of your path, and go where the fancy takes you.<\/p>\n