No Mow May: Diarmuid Gavin on why you should put the lawnmower away this month

Of these, bees are the most important pollinator of crops and native plants. In Ireland, crops such as apples, strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, blackcurrants, peppers, courgettes and pumpkins are all reliant on bees for pollination. But, worryingly, bee populations are declining. According to the National Biodiversity Centre, Ireland has 21 bumblebee species, of which four are endangered and two are vulnerable.

So let’s take a look at what seeds might be lurking in your lawn and ready to flower if you give the lawn mower a rest. You may like the result and end up mowing less throughout the growing season.

And there are other ways to encourage a meadow. Removing grass clippings and putting them on your garden compost heap will reduce fertility in the lawn. This weakens grass growth and allows more space for native wildflowers.

If it’s not practical to have very long grass, for example you have youngsters who want to play football, then resume cutting next month. And perhaps leave a little strip unmown or mow a pathway through the longer grass, which can look really attractive. Anything too big, like large dock leaves or thistles, can be dug up, if necessary.

At the moment, the uncut lawn may be covered with white daisies and yellow dandelions, a natural playground for children to make daisy chains and chase the seeds of dandelions.

Later in the summer, white and red clover appears and is worth growing for its delicious scent. Later in summer, you might spot Prunella vulgaris, or self-heal, a perennial with interesting small purple flowers.

You might also spot some orchids over time — over the past few years, Trinity College in Dublin removed its pristine front lawns, planted a meadow and discovered that a rare orchid, Epipactis helleborine, as well as the beautiful pink pyramidal orchid took up residence.

You might question how your small patch can really make a difference but, no matter how small, your local pollinators will appreciate it. Bumblebees and solitary bees tend to forage near their nests so a patchwork across the country of pollen-friendly gardens will make an impact.

I’m often asked about artificial or plastic lawns — in my opinion, they are not a good idea. They block access to the soil beneath for burrowing insects, such as solitary bees, and the ground above for soil dwellers such as worms, which will be starved of food beneath it. They provide food for absolutely no living creatures.

If possible, plant real alternatives to grass — lawns such as thyme lawns, camomile lawns and clover lawns can look fantastic, all will flower and produce pollen and, once established, they need less maintenance than a grass lawn. However, it does take a commitment and lots of work to get them established.

So, for the beauty of our gardens and to ensure habitats and food for the pollinators our gardens host, please spread the message that you are joining the movement.

If you engage with social media, show your lawn’s progress throughout the month and beyond by using the tag #NoMowMay.

Encourage others to join the movement. Tell them about the benefit of having a wilder lawn, and that our historic control of nature and tidy gardening are a thing of the past.

Plant of the week

Viburnum plicatum Mariesii This is a beautiful shrub with spreading horizontal branches that are covered in May with flat white flowers. This produces a romantic tiered wedding cake effect. The flowers are a bit like lacecap hydrangeas — small flowers in the centre surrounded by larger white, showy flowers. Ideally plant in sun or partial shade but I saw it recently in full shade, its flowers all the more dramatic emerging from its dark, leafy backdrop. Good autumnal foliage colour as well.

Reader Q&A

What seeds or plants can I plant now for summer colour in July and August? David

There’s loads to choose from but, if you were to sow just one seed now for summer colour, I’d choose cosmos — available in white or pink — and you’ll get lots of these pretty, daisy-like flowers at the height of summer. Nasturtium are very easy to grow from seed if you are a beginner and will deliver hot summer colour in fiery shades of yellow, orange and red. If you’re buying plants, look to salvia and dahlias, which deliver an array of rainbow colours to the August garden.

Submit your gardening questions to Diarmuid via his Instagram @diarmuidgavin using the hashtag #weekendgarden