Wild lawns

A no mow lawn – leaving your grass long and keeping the mower safely locked up inside – is one of the best things you can do to help wildlife. Find out why wild is best when it comes to your lawn….

Lawns can have limited wildlife value, particularly if you mow them short and put herbicides on them to kill the weeds. I haven’t put anything at all on my lawn for 10 years and have let all the ‘weeds’ grow. Dandelions, daisies and clover are fantastic for bees and other insects. Long grass also provides great foraging for frogs, hedgehogs and other creatures. Hedgehogs will tear off mouthfuls of long grass and add them to their nests.

You can read more about the benefits of dandelions for bees here

You can create a lawn like this very simply. Just don’t put anything on it. No herbicides, no treatments to make it greener. And leave the ‘weeds’ where they are. I use a hand push mower so I just trim the grass every so often otherwise it gets too long to push the mower through – but I raise the blades so most of the daisies and clover are protected.

The bees and insects will love you for it.

Lawns that are left for month between mowing allows plants to produce more nectar and attract many more bees.

You can also go one step further and create wildflower meadows instead of a lawn. Here are some links for inspiration.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/give-nature-a-home-in-your-garden/garden-activities/startawildflowermeadow/

https://friendsoftheearth.uk/bees/how-make-wildflower-meadow

I keep an area of the garden with long grass and wildflowers. This is full of pink campion and scabious, as well as grasses. I make sure that the seeds have ripened and then scatter them before I clear them away at the end of the flowering season.

I run a hedgehog rescue in York, England. I am also a keen wildlife gardener, passionate about inspiring people to use their garden spaces to help our declining wildlife. You can find out more about my work here and also how to support my work.

I make beautiful wildlife jewellery inspired by the plants and wildlife that thrive in my wildlife garden. Please check it out at www.littlesilverhedgehog.etsy.com