I love alliteration as much as anyone…it’s a great tool for titles and marketing campaigns. But a catchy slogan can sell a concept that has little or mixed merit. So it is for “No Mow May.” The idea here was to encourage people to let flowers bloom in their lawns early in the season to support pollinators. While this is a nice concept, the reality is that this is simplistic and not all that effective. First of all, most American lawns don’t have many flowers to let grow and bloom in the first place, and the most common blooms found there are non-native white clover and dandelions. While the clover provides good pollen and nectar for pollinators, the dandelions aren’t a primary food source.

Letting a lawn, which is usually made up on non-native grasses, grow too tall can cover any flowers that are there, making them less accessible to pollinators. And it’s harder on the grass plants to recover from being cut after growing so high than it is if the turf is mowed to a height of around three or four inches tall on a regular basis. Instead of letting a lawn grow tall over a short 30 days, far better to concentrate on having a diversity of plants on your entire landscape that includes many that are native to your area.

Consider growing a “lawn’ that is’t a monoculture of grass, but contains an assortment of flowering plants as well. See the “lawn” that surrounds the pool in the photo below.  And yes, I acknowledge that some people don’t want bees in areas so close to a pool where children may be running. The landscape pictured on the postcard was for a household of adults; everyone should use their commonsense.

If you have some areas that are a more traditional clover and grass lawn, plan for other spaces where you allow taller native weeds and wildflowers to flourish. Include native shrubs in your garden, and don’t be hasty to remove native trees. (In my part of the Northeast USA, we need to save our native oaks and wild cherry trees.) Don’t be quick to kill the aphids or other insects you see on roses or other plants, and whenever possible remember that since everything is connected to everything else, the better alliteration to roll with in our yards and gardens is “Live and let Live.” 

Instead of just letting a lawn grow taller for thirty days, consider having a lawn where a variety of plants are allowed to grow. This lawn contains grass, thyme, clover, yarrow, and random weeds. It is only watered occasionally during a drought, never fertilized, and mowed every two weeks to a height of four inches. The clippings are allowed to fall back on the area instead of being bagged and removed.