Relax! It's what your lawn would want

Of all the things we suggest you do to make your garden more of a haven for wildlife, surely those that involve actually stopping doing something are the most attractive. After all, in this age where time is such a precious commodity, we could all benefit from doing a little less.

But I do realise that for some people, the following idea will cause a little sharp intake of breath, for it is all about letting the lawnmower sit quietly in the shed.

Letting your grass grow a little longer, you see, has been proven to have a range of wildlife benefits. The taller micro-forest of stems creates a safer, more humid microclimate, allowing more minicreatures to survive, and hence providing more food for birds.

Little flowering plants growing among the grasses grab their chance to do what nature hoped they might - they bloom, which is good news for bees and other pollinators.

Plus the extra cover is just what wildlife like Hedgehogs and Slow-worms need. Having to dash across bowling green lawns makes them feel very scared indeed.

I always make the case that much of the impetus for this national obsession with mowing is just a cultural thing - we do it because we are expected to do it, and if we don't then we fear the tongues will start wagging and your social status will plummet.

However, if you go somewhere like the Alps, you find that having what looks like a meadow outside your door, bouncing with butterflies and dotted with a million wildflowers, is seen as normal. Those towns and villages live life to the sound of cowbells, not mower blades.

You don't need to leave the whole lawn; and you don't need to let it grow unchecked all year. Our simple Giving Nature a Home advice page here sets out some of the different approaches to try.

Personally, I love the technique of mowing the edges, showing that you're still in control, but leaving 'islands' of shag-pile grass and flower, such as here at Denman's Garden in West Sussex.

But it is when I see members of the public embracing it and 'leading from the front' that I get most excited. Here is a front lawn I passed last week - yes, a front lawn, in full public view! - where the honeowner had let a bed of Cowslips bloom in the lawn.

 It's when I see sights like this that I firmly believe it is time for the nation to relax in the lawn department!