Letting go of lawns

I was delighted this year when my mum decided to relinquish control and let her back lawn 'do its thing'.

I got to see it in the middle of June, by which stage the White Clover had caused a constellation of creamy stars across it.

I love it when what for the rest of the year looks like an 'all grass lawn' is given its freedom and soon reveals that there is so much more to it than that.

Around the birdbath you may be able to make out the yellow flowers of Creeping Buttercup, a 'weed' I'm sure many of us have spend much time teasing out of flower borders, but here in the lawn it is far from dominant and a well-behaved member of the community.

Go in close, and you being to make out other plants seeking to show themselves:

The tiny yellow flowers deep within the White Clover here are Black Medick. It is a member of the clover and vetch family, and has a three-lobed leaf just like clovers but on a smaller scale. You might think 'Medick' has a medical connotation, but it actually comes from a region in Iran it is thought to have originated in, a long, long time ago. I love its country name of 'Nonesuch', which actually means 'without equal',quite a grand claim for such a humble little plant

What isn't yet showing in flower but its leaves are threaded throughout in the picture above is Germander Speedwell, whose flower colour is one of the best of all our wildflowers. It's just that you need to get down on your knees to fully apprecaite it. I've delved into my photo collection to find a shot of it in full bloom:

None of these flowers are things my mum has planted; they have introduced themselves into what originally would indeed have been just grass. So, what is the wildlife value of letting these flowers bloom? Well, in the case of the White Clover and Black Medick, they are well visited by pollinators including varkous bee species, plus the leaves are feasted on by a host of insects.

Germander Speedwell is not such a hit with pollinators, and actually very few insects are known to feed on the leaves, but it does have its own Germander Speedwell Gall Midge. I realise this doesn't sound too glamourous, but its effect is easy to spot because the action of the midge larva prompts the terminal leaves on a stem to inflate and turn into a fluffy ball! And it is all part of the rich tapestry of life going on under our noses.

Longer lawns create a minijungle in which so much micro life can thrive, then feeding the foodchains above. Plus a longer lawn is better able to withstand drought and deluge.

It has been so great to see so many people have a go at No Mow May in 2021, but it is just as important that some people do - what shall we call it? - 'Just Leave-it June' or 'Abandoned August'. It is the diversity of management in different gardens that helps give them their wildlife value. And having some mown lawns is great, too - Blackbirds and Starlings love short turf.

So if you've let to release your lawns, pledge to do so in 2022, and take time to marvel at what might emerge from the sea of green. My mum is already asking for me to grow her some Bird's-foot Trefoil next spring to add to the mix and hopefully attract Common Blue butterflies to breed, so what can a dutiful son do but oblige!