No Mow May is an initiative whereby you don’t cut the grass during the month of May (or for a full 4-5 weeks) to allow the grass and wild flowers to grow to help the wildlife.
First launched in 2019 by the botanical charity Plantlife, No Mow May is a campaign that encourages gardeners to not mow their lawn during the month of May, in order to let wild flowers bloom and provide a nectar feast for pollinators such as honeybees, bumblebees and solitary bees, butterflies and moths, and beetles.
https://www.discoverwildlife.com/how-to/wildlife-gardening/no-mow-may/
In the last couple of years, I’ve been curious to try it to see what happens, and what it could be like, and this was the result.
Before
After
The wildflowers
The wildflowers and the plants that grow in the paths were really quite fascinating – particularly, where the acorns are starting to sprout.
At the base of the plot are two giant oak trees, and so not only do these self seed, but squirrels are also plant these.
There was a whole row of oak trees at the base of the plot.
There was also the usual fair of weeds (or wildflowers if you will) poking up here and there.
Conclusion
I’ll be honest, No May May, drove me nuts. The fact everything was looking overgrown and out of place just didn’t sit well for me, and I found myself resisting the urge to cut the grass on numerous occasions.
There was some good that come out of this however, and that’s the amount of grass cuttings you get out of letting it grow for a few weeks extra of the year. As you can see this easily filled the one of the compost bins.
Did you take part in No Mow May? If yes, let me know what you thought and how you got on.
Leave a Reply