On The Wild Lawn
Some Garden Thoughts From A Non-Expert
Introduction
I am not a gardener, not even slightly proficient, so all I say in this piece needs to be taken with a large pinch of salt. I have lived here for close to twenty-five years and in that time, after the initial relaying, the lawn has never been re-laid. You can see what it was like after I mowed it on July 7th 2024 in the main image.
I have attempted to cover this once before here:
So What Are My Thoughts?
I try to do as little as possible when I mow the lawn, but I used to religiously apply lawn feed when I mowed the lawn. I just about kept the lawn in a reasonable state but I expected to have to relay it. I used to pull up dandelions and anything that wasn't grass.
I got moss, and bald patches and tried putting extra seed down and it seemed to just about work.
Then I started taking notice of the plants that were needed for the bees to survive and pollinate other plants, and I began to appreciate the beauty of or lots of plants that I had been brought up to see as weeds and think should be cut down and culled.
So over the last two years, I have not used any lawn feed and I have down "N0 Mow May" which some will see as laziness on my part, but it does take a little restraint to not mow your lawn for a month and give bees and butterflies a chance.
Looking back, I cannot remember the last time I had moss on the lawn or a bald patch there. On my walks today I have seen a few that are just dead, I have never had a lawn that looked like that.
On Saturday we had a deluge and I was surprised that I could mow the lawn on Sunday. There were dandelions, buttercups, daisies and some purple blooms on there and I felt slightly guilty when I saw a bee on a daisy but he left quickly and I finished the mow.
Now a couple of theories, experts may shoot me down on this as I have not researched them, they are just my observations.
My lawn seems to grow much slower but is more consistent (check the main picture). What I think happens is that lawn feed speed up grass growth and the faster-growing grass sucks nutrients from other parts of the lawn and that causes bald spots and dead spots on the lawn.
This may be completely wrong but, my neighbour remarked to me that he thought my lawn looked amazing, and I couldn't disagree.
Conclusions And Comparisons
On my walks out today I saw a lot of lawns and gardens that had been allowed to run wild. While mine is unlikely to get like this I did find them naturally beautiful.
Seeing these gardens pleases me because I know that they are perfect to allow our pollinators to do their job and sometimes I stop and film them.
The same is happening with roadside verges, councils are allowing them to grow, and that is good for pollination and probably for the atmosphere as well. They are arguments I wheel out for "No Mow May".
I would love to know your thoughts on this, but I intend to keep on with allowing lots of things to grow on my lawn, which I will trim every fortnight or so. I am extremely happy with my wild lawn.
The music I included is "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" from "Selling England By The Pound" by Genesis for the line:
"Me I'm Just A Lawn Mower
You Can Tell Me By The Way I Walk"
About the Creator
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Comments (7)
I really support leaving areas wild as much as possible especially if there are flowers. I hate seeing them cut down. Thanks for doing the no mow May.
As long as you're happy with your lawn, that's what matters the most.
Love your wild lawn, Did you know that dandelion salad is delicious?
Good work. Your lawn looks fine to me. No Mow May sounds good to me, but that would depend on where a person lives.
I can see the care you put into those plants. beautiful dandelions!
I really love this kinda greenery and lawns love your story it was indeed a worth read
"If this is paradise, I wish I had a lawnmower..." Talking Heads