No Mow May

Doesn’t have to be “wildflowers”. My garden is planted up with insect attractive flowers, and you can hear the “buzz, whirr, buzz” all day long. Lavender, nepeta, Scabious, Buddhlia, Carnations, Roses, Snapdragons, etc….. My neighbour, (who is absolutely lovely) has a very wild garden, but there’s little colour and potential for nectar and pollen. It’s all grass, nettles, and ruddy bindweed, which is choking the life out of most things. No management at all sadly. I have nettle patches, leave mixed hedges to grow during peak nesting times, and there’s plenty of water and insect friendly wood piles. Since we have lived here, we have shared our garden with dozens of birds species, foxes, hedgehogs, bats, owls on a regular basis. I suspect next door is a rat haven, but it’s too overgrown to tell🤣

Yes, many garden plants are cultivars of our wild species and can be beneficial. However, some introduced garden plants, mainly foreign ones, have little, often no eco value in the UK. Some like rhododendrons and, to a lesser degree, azalea can be a threat to our habitats and provide nothing for insects and our fauna . Apparently our insects do not have the mouthparts to reach the nectar in rhododendron and the nectar produced is poisonous to our creatures. They are also incredibly invasive.
Some of our wild flora also have specific symbiotic relations within their habitats which are complex. Boring to some I’m sure but fascinating to others. One in five of Britain's wildflower species is threatened with extinction and we’ve lost some already, it would be a shame to loose more, wouldn’t it?

Some good news mind

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjkkm4re518o

Yes, there’s few things more uplifting than a lovely old meadow full of wildflowers. I am not keen on Rhododendrons,  I remember the huge under taking to clear them out of Snowdonia many years ago, and it’s seems an ongoing battle for many NT properties. Nice if well controlled, places like Lanhydrock and Heligan, but not if left to go wild. It’s all about management really, and making the right choices.

Out on our walks this week, what stunning places we have seen along the Welsh Coastal Path and so many wild flowers.

Just a tad disappointing to see several dogs running and chasing each other whilst off the lead across the National Trust headlands despite the notices to keep them on leads. Potentially lots of ground and shrub nesting birds were disturbed. Some folk just don’t care!

Out in the garden today I noticed that the Bees were almost as one in choosing "Granny's Bonnet" Aquilegia for their nectar. We let these self seed, and boy do they take advantage, but are easy to pull out of areas where we dont want them.

Unfortunately our newly planted Lavender will take time to establish itself. We were sorry to see the previous succumb to the damp weather as it was an insect magnet.

Good idea for St.Davids Micky.

Many areas around the UK are reporting great things happening around and about, both urban and rural, as a result of a growing involvement in NMM. Good to see one of my favourite nature presenters endorsing the project, well done Iolo Williams and all involved. Warwick Council obviously learnt from previous years and improved their approach to the concept.👍

https://www.warwickshireworld.com/news/people/warwick-districts-no-mow-may-has-been-a-blooming-success-so-far-says-council-4630866

The Scam of No Mow May has been around for a while.......

We joke with our groundsman in work that he can't/won't cut the grass between September and April because he says it is too wet. Then it's No Mow May, then he takes his holidays in June, July & August so basically we are lucky if he cuts the grass twice in a year....!

But the latest scam on club sites seems to be Dark Skies - the excuse to endanger H & S and Security by saving a bit on the site electric bill.....

“No mow May is virtue signalling at its worst.”

Or not.

Very please to read in the C&MC July magazine (page 8) that the club will, in addition to supporting NMM, will now adopt an all year round approach to managing appropriate areas around their sites. A wildflower regenerative approach is also being trialed at the Moreton in Marsh site. Exciting news and well done the club!