Somebody posting on another gardening group is trying to claim that No Mow May has caused a huge drop in bees and other insects in their garden this year. There are a few issues with their claim, not least the fact that we are only 1/3 of the way through the month!
Maybe @KT53 they meant they did it last year and they have a drop in insects this year.
Anyway, as I said before, to stop mowing just for a month is bad for wild life, much better to have a wild bit in the garden, even if small, and flowers in your borders.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Somebody posting on another gardening group is trying to claim that No Mow May has caused a huge drop in bees and other insects in their garden this year.
I think that is very unlikely. The drop in insect numbers is primarily due to insecticides, some of which remain in the soil for decades.
Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
Maybe @KT53 they meant they did it last year and they have a drop in insects this year.
Anyway, as I said before, to stop mowing just for a month is bad for wild life, much better to have a wild bit in the garden, even if small, and flowers in your borders.
@Busy-LizzieIrrespective of whether it was this year or last, to suggest that her neighbours not mowing in May last year had an effect on insect numbers either last year or this, is ridiculous.
There was a segment on one of the gardening programmes last year about the various 'no mow' options and reducing mowing to once a month was actually said to be the best option. Explanation given was that it actually encouraged flowering of clover and other flowers loved by bees.
I agree with @Busy-Lizzie on this. Not mowing for a short time can't be properly viable. If you have a large garden , you can have both. A wild area and a cultivated one no problem. More difficult in smaller sites, but most people have a front and a back garden, so one could be wilder and one could be tidy. I personally think front gardens should be tidy in a residential area, but I know others will disagree. If you have enough room, even in a smaller back garden, you can have a small wild area, or beds/borders with suitable planting, and keep your grass. Like many others, I live near farmland, woodland etc, so there's plenty of habitat of all kinds. I often think it's yet another guilt trip for gardeners.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Nothing special about May. I have mown bits, unmown bits and occasionally mown bits. I won't be letting it all grow for a month, just long enough for egg laying insects to lay, and then chopping it off
I think No Mow May is a great idea. It’s not aimed at wildlife enthusiasts with grass, as they are probably leaving areas to grow out anyway. The month is to entice people to try out long grass for a month and get used to the idea, or be lazier and just leave it all summer.
It’s a way of getting wildlife gardening headlining in papers and on TV and it very much works. Much like Veganaury.
Just because something doesn’t work in your space doesn’t mean you have to trash the whole idea. Luckily, you are not the world.
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Anyway, as I said before, to stop mowing just for a month is bad for wild life, much better to have a wild bit in the garden, even if small, and flowers in your borders.
There's plenty of birds about but no ladybirds. We'll see what happens.
More difficult in smaller sites, but most people have a front and a back garden, so one could be wilder and one could be tidy. I personally think front gardens should be tidy in a residential area, but I know others will disagree.
If you have enough room, even in a smaller back garden, you can have a small wild area, or beds/borders with suitable planting, and keep your grass. Like many others, I live near farmland, woodland etc, so there's plenty of habitat of all kinds.
I often think it's yet another guilt trip for gardeners.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I guess the clue is in the name!
In the sticks near Peterborough