Lawn mowing

[Dave2002]

I'm wondering whether to start to wind down my lawn rewilding experiment. Last week I had half of the front lawn mown - pending getting the robot mower working again. The part close to the road is still not mown, and the grass and other plants are getting taller and larger. I have definitely noticed more bees and insects - mostly flying around the clover heads. I gather from some recent discussions on R4 that there are definite benefits to wildllife and natural diversity if areas are left untreated for some time, though I doubt that a few months abstinence from garden "maintenance" will have many long term effects. Owls might appreciate this, as long grass might encourage small rodents, so providing a source of food and interest for those nocturnal flyers. There are owls in the area - we heard one a few nights ago, though whether they visit our garden wild patch I can't say.

I'll perhaps clear another strip of - say 4 metres width shortly, to sweeten up the neighbours!

[gradus]

If you live on an intersection, most definitely cut the grass so that road users can clearly see what is approaching.
We leave the churchyard grass to grow until the ox-eyed daisies have finished and it looks fine, but the work required to make graves accessible can be considerable and expensive if nobody is fit enough or has suitable mowing equipment to deal with 3 foot high stems.

[Sir Velo]

I'm wondering whether to start to wind down my lawn rewilding experiment....I gather from some recent discussions on R4 that there are definite benefits to wildllife (sic) and natural diversity

Add yellow rattle and it will soon parasitise on the grass and save you the effort of having to mow the lawn. That way you can soon start on your journey to creating a meadow. R4 might have just caught on to it but the benefits to wildlife have been known by the rest of us for many, many years!

[oddoneout]

If you live on an intersection, most definitely cut the grass so that road users can clearly see what is approaching.
We leave the churchyard grass to grow until the ox-eyed daisies have finished and it looks fine, but the work required to make graves accessible can be considerable and expensive if nobody is fit enough or has suitable mowing equipment to deal with 3 foot high stems.

One man went to mow... On occasion the orchard grass at work has been dealt with by running a scythe skills course. A network of paths is kept roughly mown by machine but that still leaves plenty for the learners to get stuck in to.

[oddoneout]

I'm wondering whether to start to wind down my lawn rewilding experiment. Last week I had half of the front lawn mown - pending getting the robot mower working again. The part close to the road is still not mown, and the grass and other plants are getting taller and larger. I have definitely noticed more bees and insects - mostly flying around the clover heads. I gather from some recent discussions on R4 that there are definite benefits to wildllife and natural diversity if areas are left untreated for some time, though I doubt that a few months abstinence from garden "maintenance" will have many long term effects. Owls might appreciate this, as long grass might encourage small rodents, so providing a source of food and interest for those nocturnal flyers. There are owls in the area - we heard one a few nights ago, though whether they visit our garden wild patch I can't say.

I'll perhaps clear another strip of - say 4 metres width shortly, to sweeten up the neighbours!

A mix of grass heights is useful to a variety of creatures, and will lead to different mixes of plants. Several flowering plants can adapt well to "long" mown sward - clover for instance can produce a fine carpet of flowers if the mower blades are set that bit higher, although that does mean being careful about bare foot grass walking when the bees find it! Violas have begun seeding themselves into my grass and are miniaturising themselves in response to the very basic mowing I do - just topping the area to cut down the long stalks of both weeds and grass before they start flowering. It's lovely to see the little viola faces spangling the grass.The amount of moss now impedes the mower(it's only a small battery one) if I try a closer cut.

[Old Grumpy]

Violas have begun seeding themselves into my grass and are miniaturising themselves in response to the very basic mowing I do - just topping the area to cut down the long stalks of both weeds and grass before they start flowering. It's lovely to see the little viola faces spangling the grass.

Cue viola jokes...

[Serial_Apologist]

Cue viola jokes...

Et violà - as the French don't say.

[Dave2002]

A mix of grass heights is useful to a variety of creatures, and will lead to different mixes of plants. Several flowering plants can adapt well to "long" mown sward - clover for instance can produce a fine carpet of flowers if the mower blades are set that bit higher, although that does mean being careful about bare foot grass walking when the bees find it! Violas have begun seeding themselves into my grass and are miniaturising themselves in response to the very basic mowing I do - just topping the area to cut down the long stalks of both weeds and grass before they start flowering. It's lovely to see the little viola faces spangling the grass.The amount of moss now impedes the mower(it's only a small battery one) if I try a closer cut.

Much of the grass is still covered in clover flowers. I haven't bothered to cut it back yet, and there were definitely bees and other creatures "enjoying" it. There is still a section of longer grass, but I have been gradually pushing it back towards the road. When I do this, all sorts of things fly out - including what I think are small moths.

So - will I continue this experiment in "non-interference"? Maybe - maybe not. I do wonder if one downside to encouraging some of the wildlife is that it gets into the house, and I have had several [sometimes expensive] pullovers reduced to holes held together with fragments of wool over the last few years. I exaggerate of course, but it is slightly sad to see what were perfectly good garments spoiled in this way, though compared with the costs of gardening that may not actually be such a great loss - in financial terms that is. Are the creatures which do this damage essentially the same as those which I have been trying to encourage outside? Maybe! If I cut back on my "encouragement" will that create better odds for my woollen clothes to last?

Which brings me back to another point - how much should we try to shape or constrain our environments, and what for? Is it visual appeal - some aesthetic quality which takes a high priority in our decision making, or is it social pressure - the fear of being different in a local community? I look at our neighbour's garden, which is generally tidy, but there is one section which has reasonable grass and gets cut moderately frequently, while another section has grass which has been so obsessively cut back that it is barely green at all - brown with tinges of green. What's the point of that?

There is yet another factor in my recent inactivity regarding any lawn mowing or general tidying up - the weather. There have been so few good days for going out to do any garden work, that when there is a good day a higher priority seems to be to go out and enjoy it, as for example yesterday when I went out to watch Highland Games in a field. I could work in the garden today, but things aren't looking so promising at all.

[oddoneout]

Much of the grass is still covered in clover flowers. I haven't bothered to cut it back yet, and there were definitely bees and other creatures "enjoying" it. There is still a section of longer grass, but I have been gradually pushing it back towards the road. When I do this, all sorts of things fly out - including what I think are small moths.

So - will I continue this experiment in "non-interference"? Maybe - maybe not. I do wonder if one downside to encouraging some of the wildlife is that it gets into the house, and I have had several [sometimes expensive] pullovers reduced to holes held together with fragments of wool over the last few years. I exaggerate of course, but it is slightly sad to see what were perfectly good garments spoiled in this way, though compared with the costs of gardening that may not actually be such a great loss - in financial terms that is. Are the creatures which do this damage essentially the same as those which I have been trying to encourage outside? Maybe! If I cut back on my "encouragement" will that create better odds for my woollen clothes to last?

Which brings me back to another point - how much should we try to shape or constrain our environments, and what for? Is it visual appeal - some aesthetic quality which takes a high priority in our decision making, or is it social pressure - the fear of being different in a local community? I look at our neighbour's garden, which is generally tidy, but there is one section which has reasonable grass and gets cut moderately frequently, while another section has grass which has been so obsessively cut back that it is barely green at all - brown with tinges of green. What's the point of that?

There is yet another factor in my recent inactivity regarding any lawn mowing or general tidying up - the weather. There have been so few good days for going out to do any garden work, that when there is a good day a higher priority seems to be to go out and enjoy it, as for example yesterday when I went out to watch Highland Games in a field. I could work in the garden today, but things aren't looking so promising at all.

I don't think your clothes moth problem is related to garden management. This is an interesting article on the subject. https://www.theguardian.com/environm...hey-be-stopped
In the past I have sometimes had dreadful problems with the clothes munchers - including in a 1st floor flat in a block surrounded by car park - no gardens unkempt or otherwise. At the risk of tempting fate, my current house has had virtually no problems to date.
Your musing about shaping/constraining our environment is one I share. There is no doubt some of it is to "fit in" with what's around - not wanting to be obviously different from neighbours, and I gather that in North America a great many unfortunate folk have no choice as there are regulations about how the front garden area should be managed - the cost to the environment evidently holds no sway with the local authority rule setters and enforcers. I'm not that bothered about looks other than the space should look as if some thought/attention has been given, and that it doesn't negatively impinge on others - keeping things from overhanging the pavement for instance. One thing I have noticed is that the rise in rental properties seems to have led to an increase in non-gardening. While I understand some of the reasons that happens I still find it sad to see scruffy neglected spaces gradually taking over the streetscape. It's not as if they are automatically better for wildlife as they may be hard surfaces or gravel areas that just accumulate litter and a few determined bits of grass - the more decorative pioneer/weed species seem to take much longer to establish. It isn't good for people's mood to be surrounded by such neglect, and tends to the vicious cycle of neglect leading to more general neglect of an area - fly-tipping etc. Gardeners' World on Friday had a feature about how planting can help revive an urban area, and also the increasing trend for householders to take responsibility for the alleys behind houses to become community spaces rather than trouble-spots.

[Dave2002]

Your musing about shaping/constraining our environment is one I share. There is no doubt some of it is to "fit in" with what's around - not wanting to be obviously different from neighbours, and I gather that in North America a great many unfortunate folk have no choice as there are regulations about how the front garden area should be managed - the cost to the environment evidently holds no sway with the local authority rule setters and enforcers.

In some parts of the USA houses effectively share gardens - whch they call "yards" - particularly in condominiums, but I'm less sure about other areas. There are likely to be gardeners who will turn up and mow the lawns, so there isn't the same rush to get the mowers out on Sunday morning.

Also, re the environment and neighbours, it's not actually terribly sociable turning on a noisy mower when others are round and about - noise pollution may be just as irritating as visual lack of appeal.

I agree about urban or suburban environments - litter - discarded rubbish etc., generally bad, and of course in rural areas there are the discarded washing machines, car tyres etc. in fields, streams or rivers which would definitely be considered fly tipping in urban/suburban areas. Having written that though, getting rid of unused white goods in rural areas can be really difficult. Round here the council won't take those, and many disposal services don't actually work. We had an unwanted broken down dishwasher ouside the side of our house for a long while, before I eventually discovered that I was allowed to register a visit to the local dump with a man and a van, and then persuade our gardner to use his van to take it to the dump. I had to register his vehicle registration number with the council, and book a time slot. Anyone trying to do that with a hired van might have a problem - as they may not know the registration number before hiring a vehicle.

Before that we had tried several diffferent disposal firms - but none turned up. The council can take large items if left kerbside on specific dates - for a fee - and I don't mind doing that - but how are some items to get to the kerbs? That might be some very considerable distance away, and without a strong trolley to go over rough ground almost impossible - unless there's a rugby team at hand to do the moving. Oh - did I mention that for council collection, the items have to be placed out at specific times, but presumably are not supposed to be put out earlier - that is days in advance. Also, they are not supposed to get wet, so that means that tarpaulins may have to be placed over them before they are taken away.

Anyone who is shall we say "older", and not a weight lifter has no chance!

[oddoneout]

In some parts of the USA houses effectively share gardens - whch they call "yards" - particularly in condominiums, but I'm less sure about other areas. There are likely to be gardeners who will turn up and mow the lawns, so there isn't the same rush to get the mowers out on Sunday morning.

Also, re the environment and neighbours, it's not actually terribly sociable turning on a noisy mower when others are round and about - noise pollution may be just as irritating as visual lack of appeal.

I agree about urban or suburban environments - litter - discarded rubbish etc., generally bad, and of course in rural areas there are the discarded washing machines, car tyres etc. in fields, streams or rivers which would definitely be considered fly tipping in urban/suburban areas. Having written that though, getting rid of unused white goods in rural areas can be really difficult. Round here the council won't take those, and many disposal services don't actually work. We had an unwanted broken down dishwasher ouside the side of our house for a long while, before I eventually discovered that I was allowed to register a visit to the local dump with a man and a van, and then persuade our gardner to use his van to take it to the dump. I had to register his vehicle registration number with the council, and book a time slot. Anyone trying to do that with a hired van might have a problem - as they may not know the registration number before hiring a vehicle.

Before that we had tried several diffferent disposal firms - but none turned up. The council can take large items if left kerbside on specific dates - for a fee - and I don't mind doing that - but how are some items to get to the kerbs? That might be some very considerable distance away, and without a strong trolley to go over rough ground almost impossible - unless there's a rugby team at hand to do the moving. Oh - did I mention that for council collection, the items have to be placed out at specific times, but presumably are not supposed to be put out earlier - that is days in advance. Also, they are not supposed to get wet, so that means that tarpaulins may have to be placed over them before they are taken away.

Anyone who is shall we say "older", and not a weight lifter has no chance!

Location makes no difference - unauthorised dumping of waste is flytipping, whether in rural or urban areas. It's a real headache for landowners(and that may be ordinary householders, not just big estates) as they are expected to deal with it at their own expense. Some farmers are having to spend many thousands(especially where hazardous or doubtful waste has been dumped) each year clearing field entrances and tracks - usually due to the man and a van set-up of taking away rubbish for a fee and then just dumping it down a quiet lane or equivalent. Given the fees charged by the councils for "bulky waste disposal" and their rejigging of what can be taken to the tip for free, it's no wonder there's a booming business in illegal solutions - scattered settlements, large rural county . They were warned it would happen but chose to ignore the warnings, and are now having to think about how to address the problem they have created.
The situation in America can be really hard for householders wanting to be more environmentally aware and active with their gardening. A weekly gardening column I follow has several BTL contributors from across the pond and a couple are up against the requirement to mow their front lawn - they are not in an apartment block or other communal arrangement. This gives some idea of what people may be up against https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/law...r%20properties.
and that's before you get on to pressure to use water and chemicals to keep it looking "good"
And we are not subjected to mandatory spray programmes - imagine have a plane going over depositing a mist of toxic chemicals over your house and garden.

[Dave2002]

Location makes no difference - unauthorised dumping of waste is flytipping, whether in rural or urban areas. It's a real headache for landowners(and that may be ordinary householders, not just big estates) as they are expected to deal with it at their own expense.

Agree absolutely - in urban/suburban areas I think it typically costs about £1000 to clear up fly tipped junk. So in Surrey when the council tried to save money by closing or reducing the opening times at official dumps, the money saved wasn't anything like as great as had been anticipated.

In rural areas though it isn't always actually fly tipping. It's not, for example, fly tipping if I choose to keep all my old junk on our front lawn - though there may be some rules to try to stop me. If I do it more tidily out of sight then it isn't fly tipping - just a darn nuisance. If I leave such junk along the side of the house, a neighbour might complain, but there's not much that they can do. Merely looking untidy - unless there's a health and safety hazard - is not an offence.

As I hinted earlier, it's not always very easy to get things done, even if one wants to or intends to.

Some farmers may just find it easier to leave old cars, tractors, tyres, bits of rusting agricultural equipment etc. in/on their land - though tenant farmers would perhaps draw the wrath of their landowners if they didn't keep things a bit tidier.

[smittims]

I think it depends where you live. A house in a street I pass frequently has an ancient Rover 75 partly hidden by a mountain of junk and bric-a-brac, yet thirty years ago my father actually camouflaged his caravan , parked behind a shrubbery in his front garden. He told me the neighbours considered it bad form to have it visible (like showing the hem of your petticoat). And two years ago when we had some alterations our builder put a skip on our forecourt and gradually filled it with rubbish. One evening I was surprised to see a little woman with a little white van, nosing and picking around it. We had a sort of cultural communication problem, I trying to tell her that , rubbish or not, it was still private property on private land, whereas she seemed to think there was some tribal custom which ruled it fair game.

[Serial_Apologist]

I think it depends where you live. A house in a street I pass frequently has an ancient Rover 75 partly hidden by a mountain of junk and bric-a-brac, yet thirty years ago my father actually camouflaged his caravan , parked behind a shrubbery in his front garden. He told me the neighbours considered it bad form to have it visible (like showing the hem of your petticoat). And two years ago when we had some alterations our builder put a skip on our forecourt and gradually filled it with rubbish. One evening I was surprised to see a little woman with a little white van, nosing and picking around it. We had a sort of cultural communication problem, I trying to tell her that , rubbish or not, it was still private property on private land, whereas she seemed to think there was some tribal custom which ruled it fair game.

That hadn't occurred to me: I could well have been that little woman, having often made good use of dumped junk in skips parked on a street, and strayed across property thresholds. .

[oddoneout]

Agree absolutely - in urban/suburban areas I think it typically costs about £1000 to clear up fly tipped junk. So in Surrey when the council tried to save money by closing or reducing the opening times at official dumps, the money saved wasn't anything like as great as had been anticipated.

In rural areas though it isn't always actually fly tipping. It's not, for example, fly tipping if I choose to keep all my old junk on our front lawn - though there may be some rules to try to stop me. If I do it more tidily out of sight then it isn't fly tipping - just a darn nuisance. If I leave such junk along the side of the house, a neighbour might complain, but there's not much that they can do. Merely looking untidy - unless there's a health and safety hazard - is not an offence.

As I hinted earlier, it's not always very easy to get things done, even if one wants to or intends to.

Some farmers may just find it easier to leave old cars, tractors, tyres, bits of rusting agricultural equipment etc. in/on their land - though tenant farmers would perhaps draw the wrath of their landowners if they didn't keep things a bit tidier.

It was your

discarded washing machines, car tyres etc. in fields, streams or rivers

that made me think of flytipping but yes the leaving "stuff" lying around is indeed an issue, and has been for centuries. Family living on a former croft(rubbish free now) and surrounded by other, some active, crofts are faced(when in the garden) with the results of that, although the situation has improved somewhat in recent years, partly through actually clearing some of the mess and partly through nature having masked it.
Quite apart from the difficulty and cost of disposal, keeping stuff "in case it is needed" sometimes does prove justified. The popular "Our Yorkshire Farm" series often featured items from the barns or fields being repurposed or refurbished, and many a fence repair or henhouse involves such an approach.