September 2023 - Let's Talk Lawns!
Are you a neat freak? Can you keep a lawn coiffured and beautifully smooth and green as a bowling green, complete with beautifully straight stripes?
We always admire those that can but after many years of doing No Mow May our lawn is now full of dandelions, plantain, self heal and a lot of other things that do not resemble a blade of grass.
We have decided to embrace it after all, once it is mown, it looks flat and green. Sort of! Of course the No Mow May thing fits nicely with our ethos of gardening in a sustainable way and since we have been doing it we have noticed a huge increase in our visiting insects and pollinators. This has been great for our vegetable garden area.
Next year we are going to take it one step further and rewild a small area. Our garden is not huge so it will only be a couple of square meters. We plan to sow the wildflower mix along with extra Yellow Rattle. Yellow Rattle is a great one for keeping grass, even goose or couch grass, at bay as it is parasitic where grass is concerned. Maintaining this area will be a doddle, we will only mow twice a year, Autumn once the annuals have set seed and Spring before the perennials get going.
For the rest of the lawn we will leave as is, apart from the addition of Lawn/Roman Chamomile, Purple Creeping Thyme and some Red and White Clover. In our vision we think it is going to look stunning and really aid the wild life but we will be sure to take pictures of our progress and add them to this blog later on.
Once established this area should be easy to maintain as well, at least we hope it will be! Why don't you join us in this little experiment and rewild a small area of your own. You don't have to have a large garden, even the tiniest of areas will be beneficial and beautiful to look at. Everything thing you need is listed below, go on, have a go!
- Wildflower Meadow Mix
- Yellow Rattle Wildflower
- Lawn/Roman Chamomile
- Purple Creeping Thyme
- Red & White Clover
See you further on down the garden path!