No mow . . . no more

[niemeyjt]

The lawn is back, Monty Don decrees

TV gardener makes a mowing u-turn that will delight traditionalists and dismay eco-warriors

The garden lawn is back. Monty Don, the doyenne of British gardeners, has decreed it.

In a u-turn that will delight traditionalists and dismay eco-warriors, the 69-year-old veteran broadcaster has declared that mowing the lawn is not only acceptable but de rigeur.

For some years, Don had been insistent that garden lawns should be unkempt, unmown and blended with wild flowers and wisps of long grass. But now he has admitted that his own lawn at Longmeadow, his home in Herefordshire with spectacular gardens familiar to millions of TV viewers, has succumbed to regular mowing.

In an article in BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, he wrote: “This spring and summer I have made a tightly mown and evenly green lawn. This is slightly surprising because I have long been on record for advocating replacing lawns with long grass, ideally filled with naturalised flowers.”

It has now dawned on the celebrity gardener that a neat looking lawn is not only advantageous for grandchildren wanting to play football but also shows off best the plants in the beds surrounding it. Tall grass, Don has now conceded, rather detract from the flowers.

In a further intervention that he accepts sounds revolutionary, Don went on: “Although this might seem a radical statement to most British gardeners, garden design is not really about plants. They are merely one of the tools at the designer’s disposal.”

He said gardening was in fact foremost about getting “the space right” because otherwise “it will not look or feel good regardless of what plants you use, be they ever so rare or horticulturally fascinating”.

An unmown lawn, he has now accepted, makes the space look smaller, not bigger. “Horizontal space uses paths, paving levels, steps and grass,” wrote Mr Don, adding: “Long grass fills a space to quite a surprising extent, whereas mown grass takes the same area and expands it. Gardens need room for the eye and mind to drift and breathe. Too many plants and it becomes suffocating.”

The author of more than 25 gardening books and long-standing host of the BBC’s coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show said his own lawn, well known to his TV audience, is “long and quite narrow” and is “busy and intense with planting” either side.

“The simple strip of green lawn provides a breathing space between these two,” he said. “It also provides a playground for my grandchildren so they can bomb up and down on their bikes or kick or hit balls without damaging the garden.”

He accepted that while “every garden should encourage areas of long grass,” he now recognised the need for “mown grass”, adding: “It all has to work together - this is what makes gardening so endlessly fascinating and rewarding, and at times difficult.

“But mown lawns can and perhaps should be part of that complicated balance.”

In recent years, the rise of the unkempt lawn has been epitomised by the No Mow May movement, which has encouraged gardeners to let grass do its own thing through the spring.

The campaign was launched in 2019 and was the brainchild of the charity Plantlife to encourage wild flowers, such as dandelions and buttercups. Plantlife has also advocated mowing only every four to six weeks and also cutting sections of lawn at different frequencies.

source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/0 ... rn-garden/

Time for @Bayleaf to sharpen those mower blades.

[Bayleaf]

Duly noted!

Flexing my strimmer muscles as I write - sectioning off the awkward areas of our wilderness into sections, for early morning sessions. New blades on the ride-ons, but one is still on the ramp awaiting a tricky fix.

Then it'll be all hands on deck, or rather mowers, to get our wilderness back to some sort of order! Paying clients get it done monthly, or more - we don't have the enthusiasm to keep spending money on fuel to do our own, so nature wins there! Apart from the immediate areas surrounding the house.

We don't need access to all our "garden", we don't have borders filled with fancy flowers, our lawns contain most of the flowers - wild ones. The plethora of insects enjoying them is joy enough. We don't have grandchildren who need to play football .....horses for courses. People will keep cut what's necessary for them - but it would be nice if they can still leave wild areas untouched. There was an article from the UK recently complaining "where have all the insects gone?" We need to strike a balance, or accept the outcome.

[MAD87]

My garden - which I created from a square of "lawn" - has gone to rack and ruin since I broke my leg. My sons cut it once - weeks ago - since when rainb and warmth have created a jubgle. My nurse says he'll speak to a gardener friend to talk about availability, but I have litttle hope. Depressing, looking at weeds nearly as tall as the 2m hedge!

[Blaze]

Well what a surprise, a commendable idea for those with a large garden but simply not practical for most people. Imagine all the lotissements left to their own devices.
It might have been more sensible to suggest people put certain plants in their gardens to attract insects, so people could plant according to the space they have.

The verges in our area have been left uncut until recently. They have looked wonderful with a large variety of wild flowers which will have attracted plenty of insects. The only downside is that some junctions have become dangerous as visibility has been blocked and drivers will not slow down.

[Niftyons]

Gardens can be for survival or showing off to the Jones’.

‘ Too many plants and it becomes suffocating.’

Tarmac is the way to go.

[Quiksilver]

You forgot the third option They can be a never-ending source of pleasure, creativity, exercise and peace!