IT’S JUNE - #LETITBLOOMJUNE - WHO's IN?
SHOW US YOUR LAWNS  

Continue to leave your lawn and let the summer flowers come!

Leaving your lawn has so many benefits, here are a few ways to help you manage it going forward, depending on how comfortable you are finding it, know that leaving your lawn is an amazing thing to do to support biodiversity.

 I AM DESPERATE TO MOW MY LAWN! 
OK, so we have all been conditioned to have a nice tidy lawn, we get it. For so many of us, letting it go can seem a bit like a personal failure, it can be very uncomfortable.

So if you are looking out the window and seeing your lawn and feeling the itch to get the mower out, well if you mow your lawn once a month only you are still helping a great deal. We would rather you did this than gave up completely, well done if you have left it for 4 weeks!

The 4 weeks till November you will see flowers like daisies, selfheal, white clover and bird’s-foot-trefoil, such important natives that are full of very important nectar, a four week mowing regime will stimulate their growth, so well done everyone who has managed it.

Here is some guidance from the wonderful plantlife.org
Short grass areas will also attract many insects, such as mining bees that create their burrows in the ground.

How often? - Cut once a month (every four weeks)

When? - April to November

How? - With a lawnmower that collects grass clippings

How high? - Between 2.5 and 5 cm (1-2 inches)

CO2 savings? - 293 kg CO2

Tips? - Also use for paths or borders to frame long-grass areas
Rotate the mowing each week so you always have some patches in flower

Key flowers?- White clover: produces lots of nectar

Bird’s-foot-trefoil: feeds over 130 different invertebrates

Selfheal: great for bumblebees

  I CAN KEEP GOING WITH NO MOW  
Well done, the longer grass will create habitat for even more species and you will begin to see taller plant species like Oxeye daisies, Field Scabious and Common Knapweed, you never know, you might get Orchids too! This means nectar will be available into Autumn and you are creating nesting sites for invertebrates too!

More lawn management information here from plantlife.org

How often? - Twice a year

When? - In September and again before Christmas

How? - First cut with a sythe, sheers or a strimmer (check for wildlife first!)
Second cut with a lawnmower that collects the clippings that collects grass clippings

How high? - Between 5 and 10 cm (2-4 inches)

CO2 savings? - 359 kg CO2

Tips? - Spread hay from first cut on other areas of grass to transfer seeds and increase flowers
Leave some areas uncut all winter to provide habitat for insects and other wildlife

Key flowers? - Yellow rattle: nature’s lawnmower helps keep grass short.

Oxeye daisy: long flowering season and packed with pollen and nectar.

Common knapweed: produces huge amounts of nectar in summer.

If you are leaving your lawn, do not forget to let us know at PLEDGE to help build Marlow’s Nature Corridor and get on the map!

PLEDGE today here https://forms.gle/MtnF63K3ohckcCJd9 and help us reach our 1000 pledges! Tell us what you are already doing on your window box, balcony or garden and what you might think about doing.

More on the Much Wilder Marlow campaign here and tips for your outdoors space go to https://www.wildmarlow.org.uk/wilder_marlow.php
#muchwildermarlow #marlow