1 day Ago By Angela Patrone
Monty Don , a renowned gardening expert, often takes to his monthly blog to share his wealth of knowledge to help enthusiasts enhance their gardens . In his recent monthly gardening blog, he discussed the optimal time for mowing lawns . While many gardeners have already started tending to their overgrown grass, Monty Don suggests waiting until June 21.
He shared that at Longmeadow, his own garden, he limits mowing to pathways and encourages as much grass as possible to grow long, interspersed with spring bulbs and wildflowers. He stated: “This looks beautiful and is so much better for insects and all forms of wildlife than a neatly mown lawn.” Despite delaying mowing to allow spring plants and wildlife to flourish, the 69-year-old emphasised how "important" it is to time the cutting of long grass to “maximise the performance of the bulbs next spring and of the grasses themselves”.
He advised: “Nothing should be cut at all until after the longest day on June 21. This gives the foliage of the bulbs time to die back and feed next year’s bulb and subsequent flowering. “The grass can then be cut if it has been hot and dry, although sometimes I leave this as late as mid-August.
” Traditionally, May is when soils are warm enough for grasses to start growing rapidly. Gardeners are often eager to start their lawnmowers and neaten up that unruly patch of grass into a plush lawn. Indeed, according to Plantlife's 2019 survey, most gardeners mow their lawns biweekly.
Yet, by resisting the urge to mow just yet and participating in the No Mow May campaign, you could significantly benefit UK pollinators, not forgetting the birds and animals that rely on them. No Mow May was initiated in 2019 by the conservation charity Plantlife, which is once more encouraging individuals to abstain from mowing throughout May. This respite gives spring plants time to flower and set seeds before the season's first mow, creating healthier and more biodiverse grasslands.
What’s more, postponing mowing allows wild plants to establish themselves early on in May, supplying bees, butterflies, and other pollinators with sustenance for the summer. When you eventually decide it’s time for that first mow of the year, Montysaid: “You must collect it all up and take it to the compost heap to stop it from adding nutrition to the ground, which would encourage lusher, coarser grasses at the expense of the flowers.” During the summer months from June to August, maintaining your lawn with weekly mowing is optimal as growth is more consistent due to decreasing soil moisture.
Should a drought occur, and conditions become exceedingly arid, it might be wise to cease mowing entirely and let the grass grow until the rains return..
