No Mow May

[Dave2002]

I do wonder about "our" fetishes for "neat and tidy" gardens. Nature hardly ever has straight lines, and edges - if discernible - are often ragged - think lawns and hedges. What's so special about having stripes or chequer board patterns in lawns anyway? So is there a balance between manic shaving each blade of grass to within a millimetre of its life, or letting lawns and other garden areas run at least slightly wild?

[gurnemanz]

I do wonder about "our" fetishes for "neat and tidy" gardens. Nature hardly ever has straight lines, and edges - if discernible - are often ragged - think lawns and hedges. What's so special about having stripes or chequer board patterns in lawns anyway? So is there a balance between manic shaving each blade of grass to within a millimetre of its life, or letting lawns and other garden areas run at least slightly wild?

I mentioned my compromise strategy on this other lawn mowing thread: http://www.for3.org/forums/showthread.php?20935-Lawn-mowing&p=880912#post880912
I did my June mow yesterday.

[oddoneout]

I do wonder about "our" fetishes for "neat and tidy" gardens. Nature hardly ever has straight lines, and edges - if discernible - are often ragged - think lawns and hedges. What's so special about having stripes or chequer board patterns in lawns anyway? So is there a balance between manic shaving each blade of grass to within a millimetre of its life, or letting lawns and other garden areas run at least slightly wild?

I think one of the pleasures of gardening is the range of styles, methods etc that are available, something to suit everyone, rather than right or wrong. A highly manicured regimented patch isn't everyone's bag, and traditionally has not been very kind to nature, but is still in the grand scheme of things preferable to hard surfaces and nothing growing. As time goes on the people who went in for that approach in their home patches are probably becoming fewer, and a more relaxed approach to design is taking over, as folks become more aware of their ecological and environmental responsibilities (and possibilities) although there will always be the historical formal examples. The need to be pernickety and in control may well still exist but will be applied in ways other than straight lines.

[ardcarp]

We did No Mow May...just. Fortunately the rainfall has been so low here that the grass didn't grow much...just the weeds, especially plantains. It now looks so much better having been tended, i.e. both irrigated and mown. However, just to keep up our green credentials, we have decided to leave a patch in one corner to go wild. We hope to enjoy the results. There is clover, self-heal and a number of other things which Mrs A knows the name of. We're hoping for Yellow Rattle, which is supposed to be a Good Sign.

[Old Grumpy]

We did No Mow May...just. Fortunately the rainfall has been so low here that the grass didn't grow much...just the weeds, especially plantains. It now looks so much better having been tended, i.e. both irrigated and mown. However, just to keep up our green credentials, we have decided to leave a patch in one corner to go wild. We hope to enjoy the results. There is clover, self-heal and a number of other things which Mrs A knows the name of. We're hoping for Yellow Rattle, which is supposed to be a Good Sign.

We have been visiting a number of gardens recently, most of which have incorporated meadow elements of varying size. Now I can confidently identify Yellow Rattle, I note it seems to be evident in abundance in all of them. Today we visited an NGS Open Garden at the delightfully named Havoc Hall - apparently so- named by the previous occupants who had six daughters!

[Serial_Apologist]

We did No Mow May...just. Fortunately the rainfall has been so low here that the grass didn't grow much...just the weeds, especially plantains. It now looks so much better having been tended, i.e. both irrigated and mown. However, just to keep up our green credentials, we have decided to leave a patch in one corner to go wild. We hope to enjoy the results. There is clover, self-heal and a number of other things which Mrs A knows the name of. We're hoping for Yellow Rattle, which is supposed to be a Good Sign.

You can use it to shake at your next Liberal victory!

[oddoneout]

We did No Mow May...just. Fortunately the rainfall has been so low here that the grass didn't grow much...just the weeds, especially plantains. It now looks so much better having been tended, i.e. both irrigated and mown. However, just to keep up our green credentials, we have decided to leave a patch in one corner to go wild. We hope to enjoy the results. There is clover, self-heal and a number of other things which Mrs A knows the name of. We're hoping for Yellow Rattle, which is supposed to be a Good Sign.

White clover has been doing its thing in my grass patches the past 3 weeks or so, which the little bumblebees (haven't seen many big ones at all) have been enjoying. As the blades on the mower are set high cutting the grass leaves the majority of flower heads unscathed, and it would usually continue to provide an imitation(from a distance) of a green sward when the "proper" grass has been defeated by lack of rain, but this year even it has admitted defeat and is day by day getting browner and crispier like the rest of the area.
I well remember yellow rattle from the limestone meadows where I lived as a child. Even when not directly shaken to hear the seeds rattling in the papery pods, the wind moving through the dry stems used to make a characteristic rustle. Sheep's bit scabious and harebell were favourites of mine, and I did succeed in getting the former to grow in a micromeadow I set up in my previous garden, together with wild carrot which is another attractive plant. The adjacent 1930s council estate provided the seed, as back then it was considered a good thing to provide some open areas among housing... One of those was a very steep bank beside a road, which is infrequently cut due to the practical difficulties, and which has a lovely succession of wildflowers.

[Dave2002]

We have been visiting a number of gardens recently, most of which have incorporated meadow elements of varying size. Now I can confidently identify Yellow Rattle, I note it seems to be evident in abundance in all of them. Today we visited an NGS Open Garden at the delightfully named Havoc Hall - apparently so- named by the previous occupants who had six daughters!

I only recently heard about Yellow Rattle. Apparently it weakens regular grass to give the wild flowers more of a chance. I'm not sure whether it also improves the soil condition, so that if grass is ever wanted again it will recover quickly and easily. There is at least one web site which makes claims that dandelions actually improve soil condition - allegedly because their roots seek out water and go down further. However there won't be too many people who deliberately go out of their way to encourage dandelions. Clover is known to have a beneficial effect on nitrogen fixation.