Monty Don has shared his expert advice on when gardeners should be mowing their lawns – and it’s a little later than most people may think. The gardening expert explains all
Gardening expert Monty Don has been sharing his wisdom on the best practices for lawn care in his blog, offering insights into the optimal timing for mowing lawns. Monty Don advises gardeners to hold off on mowing until June 21, despite many already firing up their lawnmowers to tackle the spring growth.
At his own garden, Longmeadow, he limits mowing to just the paths and allows the rest of the grass to flourish with spring bulbs and wildflowers. He said: “This looks beautiful and is so much better for insects and all forms of wildlife than a neatly mown lawn.”
READ MORE: Dog owners can get 20% off these super comfy pet beds – but not for long
While he appreciates the aesthetic and ecological benefits of letting the garden grow, the 69-year-old gardening expert also notes that “it is important” to carefully time the cutting of the long grass to “maximise the performance of the bulbs next spring and of the grasses themselves”
He strongly recommends: “Nothing should be cut at all until after the longest day on June 21.” Doing so allows the bulb foliage to naturally die back and nourish next year’s blooms.
Monty Don suggests that if the weather has been hot and dry, the grass might be cut after this date, although he sometimes postpones this task until as late as mid-August.
Typically, May marks the season when soil temperatures rise sufficiently for grass to begin its rapid growth spurt, reports the Express.
Most gardeners can’t wait to dust off the lawnmower and spruce up their wild patches of green into lush, manicured lawns. A 2019 survey by Plantlife highlighted that a lot of them give their grass a trim every two weeks.
Yet, if you delay cutting your grass for a bit longer and join the No Mow May campaign, you’ll be doing a huge favour for the UK’s pollinators – not to mention the birds and beasts who feast on them.
Initiated in 2019 by conservation charity Plantlife, the No Mow May drives home the message once more: put away your mowers for an extra month. This grace period gives spring vegetation a chance to bloom and seed, leading to richer and more varied grasslands.
The movement also offers an opportunity for wild plants to establish themselves in May, which in turn serves as a banquet for bees, butterflies, and other vital pollinators throughout the summer.
When you do decide that it’s time for the season’s first cut, heed Monty’s advice: “You must collect it all up and take it to the compost heap to stop it adding nutrition to the ground which would encourage lusher, coarser grasses at the expense of the flowers.”
From June to August, weekly lawn mowing is ideal due to more consistent growth and decreased soil moisture levels.
And if a drought hits, leaving everything parched, it might be wise to hold off on mowing and let the grass grow tall until the rains make a comeback.