There has been a lot of coverage of No Mow May in the UK. The idea is that you do not cut your grass as soon as it starts growing so that your lawn can be better for wildlife.
I know some people strive for that perfect lawn, but it can be a bit of a desert for insects. I have never worried about mine being immaculate. We always had a few 'weeds' in there like clover and daisies. This year we just cut some paths and let the rest grow.
We have a big garden and we want to see wildlife in it. There are a few areas that we allow to be fairly wild, but the grass was generally kept reasonably short. I do not mind it like this and I am interested to see what grows. I do not really want things like nettles, but we have those elsewhere anyway.
The grass still needs to be managed to encourage the right sort of plants. Today I used the strimmer to cut it back a bit. I raked up the cuttings as we do not want those making the soil more fertile which would just encourage more grass growth. Other plants get by with less nutrients.
I have been watching to see what insects are around. This small fly was enjoying a buttercup. I also see bees and wasps around as well as some butterflies. I am no expert at identifying species though.
Cow parsley is pretty common around here and grows quite tall.
Daisies are everywhere too. I did not photograph any dandelions, but we get plenty of those and they are supposed to be great for insects. I do pick off the seed heads to slow down their spread a little.
I also noticed this strange web on the apple tree. We will get some fruit even though it may have some branches looking off-colour.
These alliums are related to onions, but not edible as far as I know. Their flowers are pretty anyway. We are not great gardeners, so we like these plants that just come up every year.
This area is all gravel on a membrane, but things grow in it anyway. We have ox-eye daisies, love in the mist and sweetpeas coming up. There will be lots of flowers for the pollinators. We should have some evening primrose soon too. The fence is collapsing as it is being attacked by ivy from next down. That garden is neglected and full of brambles. We hope the owners will at least clear along the fence some time.
I need to look out for the blue tits that have been using our nest box. They were busy fetching food for their chicks. That is a good reason to encourage more insect life in the garden so they do not have to fly so far.
Gardens are an important part of the local ecology. A lot of farmland is covered by a single type of plant that will be sprayed with various chemicals. We try to avoid using chemicals. I am looking to grow more native plants that will bring in more wildlife and also to create more places for them to live or nest.
We and nature need each other.