A gardening expert has shared a clever trick to boost your lawn this spring – and it involves avoiding the lawnmower in certain places. It’s good for wildlife too
As the weather perks up and we begin to venture outdoors more, thoughts naturally turn to tidying our gardens, with many considering when to start mowing their lawns. However, before you rev up the lawnmower, there’s a tip from Nicola Bradley, head gardener at The Lost Gardens of Heligan, that could not only ease your workload but also benefit the environment.
Nicola suggests that by leaving certain areas of your lawn uncut, you can give nature a helping hand and enhance the health of your garden. It seems achieving a picture-perfect lawn isn’t necessary for a beautiful summer garden. Instead, embracing a more natural approach could be key.
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The idea is simple yet impactful: leave patches of grass untrimmed to support local wildlife. This gardening hack has multiple benefits, reports the Express.
Nicola explains: “If you are used to keeping a tidy, regularly mown lawn, you’ll be starting to think about the usual spring lawn maintenance, but you might like to try something a bit different this year.
“You could stop mowing some areas and allow the wildflowers to come up in your lawn instead. This might feel like a step too far if you love a neat garden but, even by leaving a small patch in a corner, you’ll be creating a whole new habitat for a range of insects.
“It’s lovely to watch what happens when you allow it to grow naturally. Such an interesting variety of native plants that change as you observe them from spring through into summer.
“Let these flowers mature and set seed before cutting again in late summer. After watching it grow this year, you might decide to try a bigger patch next year or even decide to start a mini wildflower meadow!
“By leaving areas to grow naturally alongside mown paths or larger neat areas, you can still create control and structure in your garden, but you’ll be making it much more wildlife-friendly.”
When you should cut your grass
For those pondering the perfect time to trim their turf, there’s some standard advice to follow. In the UK, the grass-cutting season generally kicks off from mid-March to early April.
The trick is to keep an eye out for sustained dry weather and the onset of active grass growth. Typically, grass tends to sprout up regularly between this period and the tail end of October.
It’s wise to avoid giving your lawn a snip during frosty conditions, as it could cause harm. Wait for your grass to hit the three-to-four-inch mark and for the climate to dry up before firing up the mower.
Come May to August, regular mowing – weekly, if possible – is great for maintaining your lawn’s tidy appearance. And don’t forget, in scorching weather, it’s smart to adjust your mower blades to a higher setting.
From September to October, it’s recommended to keep up regular mowing but increase the cutting height during this time. This strategy will help ready the grass for the winter season.