I'm signed up for No Mow Lifetime! We only have a tiny patch left in the backyard which is mostly clover at this point. I trimmed it last week with a pair of scissors.
Down with lawns! We only have a small patch of grass left in the backyard. Haven't missed mowing this spring. Most of the gawkers to our grassless front yard are jealous of the no-mow part.
I bet they are jealous! What do you have growing there instead?
11 days in, and I’m pleased to report a bunch of delicate little yellow flowers - the buttercups joining the dandelions, taking advantage of being left to their own devices. I can see lots of clover foliage - a couple of different varieties by the looks of things - and some poppies coming through too. These are yet to bloom though. Excited to see what the next couple of weeks bring…
It's a work in progress. We tore out the grass last summer and planted some native wildflowers and flowering shrubs. The groundcover will take some years to fill in- ivy, strawberries, myrtle. Clover. Buttercups are lovely, but our back garden was overtaken by the creeping variety, with rapid spread and tenacious root system. Sadly having to pull them up this week so I can plant food crops.
Sounds lovely. Love the idea of using strawberries as ground cover. I’ve taken a not dissimilar approach with my own strawberries, which is to let them roam around as they wish, and see how they get on. It all started with a handful of plants in pots - since then they have invaded neighbouring pots, the borders, and even the cracks in my brick patio. I’m excited to see whether this latter lot in particular will bear fruit.
And don’t get me wrong, our buttercups are also of the creeping variety and have swallowed up most of what used to be the lawn. I’m enjoying them in flower at the moment but will also likely remove them come June. Happy for moss or clover to take their place though - something nice and soft underfoot.
We have nomadic strawberries too. Started a few years ago with a few plants from my son's biology club. We get a good harvest each year. Hopefully your strawberries will fruit well!
Yay! We are doing No Mow May, too, despite the fact that it's not actually legal in our village. Whatever! We had signs printed with some information, so hopefully people will realize that it's only a month and they don't have to report us (and maybe they will learn enough to inspire them to do it too).
There is a village ordinance against NOT mowing your lawn, so...yes. The penalty is a fine. When we first bought our land and home (two acres in the middle of a neighborhood), my husband, a soil conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, began to re-wild a section of our lawn, basically extending a wooded area that borders our property, planting trees and native plants. Our neighbor adjacent to that reported us to the village for not mowing. A village representative showed up, without notice or our knowledge, to look at what we were doing -- we received a phone call where this person said, "I understand what you're doing; you're fine." Our neighbor reported us again. Another village representative showed up -- this time I was at home that day, and saw him walking around our yard. I went out to talk to him and explained, again, what we were doing. We didn't get fined because, I think, we had a plan, and because the rest of our lot was (and is) clearly mowed and maintained and cared for (much as we would like to, we're not just letting it go, or planting no-mow seed mix, at least not until the latter is less cost-prohibitive for us).
This is all to say: people notice when we don't mow for any reason, and the village will come to investigate. My husband didn't want to put the No Mow May sign out but I said if we don't, they won't know what we're doing and it will increase our chances of getting in trouble. (I don't care about getting in trouble or even paying a fine; my husband is more of a rule-follower. Whatever happens, it's gonna be an interesting month!)
That is so fascinating. I know that there are parts of London - so-called conservation areas - where there are certain rules around hedge maintenance, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by your experience.
I feel like the attitude of your Neighbourhood Lawn Patrol goes to the heart of an outdated but still prevalent approach to gardens and nature in general. Which is to say, nature is ok, as long as it behaves itself and follows a strict and arbitrary set of manmade rules. I guess it’s a bit like the difference between how dogs and, say, foxes tend to be perceived. One is tame and domesticated and poops where we tell it; the other is wild and uncouth and so unwelcome on our property. It’s a shame. But hopefully by having the sorts of conversations that you and your husband are having with the “inspectors”, people’s sometimes narrow viewpoints can begin to be expanded.
I'm signed up for No Mow Lifetime! We only have a tiny patch left in the backyard which is mostly clover at this point. I trimmed it last week with a pair of scissors.
A lifetime no-mower? Nice! Rewilding Pittsburgh, one ex-lawn at a time. I love it.
Down with lawns! We only have a small patch of grass left in the backyard. Haven't missed mowing this spring. Most of the gawkers to our grassless front yard are jealous of the no-mow part.
I bet they are jealous! What do you have growing there instead?
11 days in, and I’m pleased to report a bunch of delicate little yellow flowers - the buttercups joining the dandelions, taking advantage of being left to their own devices. I can see lots of clover foliage - a couple of different varieties by the looks of things - and some poppies coming through too. These are yet to bloom though. Excited to see what the next couple of weeks bring…
It's a work in progress. We tore out the grass last summer and planted some native wildflowers and flowering shrubs. The groundcover will take some years to fill in- ivy, strawberries, myrtle. Clover. Buttercups are lovely, but our back garden was overtaken by the creeping variety, with rapid spread and tenacious root system. Sadly having to pull them up this week so I can plant food crops.
Sounds lovely. Love the idea of using strawberries as ground cover. I’ve taken a not dissimilar approach with my own strawberries, which is to let them roam around as they wish, and see how they get on. It all started with a handful of plants in pots - since then they have invaded neighbouring pots, the borders, and even the cracks in my brick patio. I’m excited to see whether this latter lot in particular will bear fruit.
And don’t get me wrong, our buttercups are also of the creeping variety and have swallowed up most of what used to be the lawn. I’m enjoying them in flower at the moment but will also likely remove them come June. Happy for moss or clover to take their place though - something nice and soft underfoot.
We have nomadic strawberries too. Started a few years ago with a few plants from my son's biology club. We get a good harvest each year. Hopefully your strawberries will fruit well!
Same to you!
Yay! We are doing No Mow May, too, despite the fact that it's not actually legal in our village. Whatever! We had signs printed with some information, so hopefully people will realize that it's only a month and they don't have to report us (and maybe they will learn enough to inspire them to do it too).
Wait hold on, it is a LEGAL requirement to mow your lawn in your village? Good for you for raging against the (lawn-mowing) machine!
There is a village ordinance against NOT mowing your lawn, so...yes. The penalty is a fine. When we first bought our land and home (two acres in the middle of a neighborhood), my husband, a soil conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, began to re-wild a section of our lawn, basically extending a wooded area that borders our property, planting trees and native plants. Our neighbor adjacent to that reported us to the village for not mowing. A village representative showed up, without notice or our knowledge, to look at what we were doing -- we received a phone call where this person said, "I understand what you're doing; you're fine." Our neighbor reported us again. Another village representative showed up -- this time I was at home that day, and saw him walking around our yard. I went out to talk to him and explained, again, what we were doing. We didn't get fined because, I think, we had a plan, and because the rest of our lot was (and is) clearly mowed and maintained and cared for (much as we would like to, we're not just letting it go, or planting no-mow seed mix, at least not until the latter is less cost-prohibitive for us).
This is all to say: people notice when we don't mow for any reason, and the village will come to investigate. My husband didn't want to put the No Mow May sign out but I said if we don't, they won't know what we're doing and it will increase our chances of getting in trouble. (I don't care about getting in trouble or even paying a fine; my husband is more of a rule-follower. Whatever happens, it's gonna be an interesting month!)
That is so fascinating. I know that there are parts of London - so-called conservation areas - where there are certain rules around hedge maintenance, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by your experience.
I feel like the attitude of your Neighbourhood Lawn Patrol goes to the heart of an outdated but still prevalent approach to gardens and nature in general. Which is to say, nature is ok, as long as it behaves itself and follows a strict and arbitrary set of manmade rules. I guess it’s a bit like the difference between how dogs and, say, foxes tend to be perceived. One is tame and domesticated and poops where we tell it; the other is wild and uncouth and so unwelcome on our property. It’s a shame. But hopefully by having the sorts of conversations that you and your husband are having with the “inspectors”, people’s sometimes narrow viewpoints can begin to be expanded.
The dog/fox analogy is so true (and kind of lovely, if it wasn't depressing the way it gets applied to both nature and foxes).
Completely agree, campaigns that require not doing something are the best as they make me feel like a real activist without the blood, sweat, & tears.