Beyond No Mow May: six wildlife wins that last all year

A quiet revolution has been taking place in our gardens since the charity Plantlife started its ‘No Mow May’ campaign back in 2018. The simple aim of getting us to put away our mowers for the month and allowing neatly cut lawns to burgeon into relaxed nature-friendly spaces, has seized the public imagination on a grand scale. Inspired by reconnecting with nature, improving both our own mental health and benefitting all kinds of threatened creatures, No Mow May has been the first step into wildlife friendly gardening for many people.

While letting our lawns grow long for one month helps create habitats, these are then removed when lawns are cut in June. Leaving long grass remain through to autumn is one way to continue helping wildlife after No Mow May is over. But what else can we do for wildlife? Browse our list below.

Mow less, for longer

Changing mowing patterns lets flowers flourish and turns your lawn into an insect magnet. ‘No Mow May’ is now not only an established and beloved feature of the gardening year but has burgeoned further into ‘Let It Bloom June’ and ‘Mow-saic’, which involves keeping some areas long and some short. Over the last 100 years the UK has lost 97 per cent of its flower-rich meadows. With approximately 30 million gardens in the UK, containing around 125,000 hectares of lawn, gardeners have the potential to make huge wins for wildlife.

Grow more wildflowers

You don't need a lawn to grow wildflowers, why not squeeze some into your borders? Consider ox-eye daisy, self-heal, red and white clover, viper's bugloss, meadow buttercup and birds-foot trefoil. You can also grow these flowers in pots.

Dig a pond

Everything needs water to live, so providing even a small source of fresh water is good, though bigger is better. A wildlife pond helps support many different species, including frogs, toads and newts, dragonflies and other aquatic invertebrates, birds which need water to drink and to bathe in order to keep feathers in good condition, and mammals like hedgehogs, voles and foxes that use ponds to drink from. Easy access is vital, so at least one side should be gently sloping, and ideally with a ‘green corridor’ of plants for protection from sun and predators. Avoid adding fish to your pond, which would eat frog and newt tadpoles, and other aquatic larvae.

Grow plants for pollinators

Provide a feast of nectar and pollen for insects by sowing their favourite annual flowers, including poppies, sunflowers, poached-egg flowers, cornflowers, nasturtiums, into border gaps. You can buy insect-friendly seed mixes, just look for the Plants for Pollinators logo on the seed packet. Sow between March and June, into bare, well-prepared moist ground, and sprinkle over a thin covering of soil. These flowers attract bees, butterflies, hoverflies and pollinating beetles.

Grow more native plants

Native shrubs, trees, climbers and hedges have considerable impact in gardens, providing leaves which a multitude of insects can lay eggs on. These, in turn, provide birds, hedgehogs and amphibians with grubs to eat. Choose from hawthorn, hazel, holly, guelder rose and spindle – all can be grown as a small tree, hedge or large shrub. If you don't have space for shrubs, hedges and trees, choose native herbaceous plants such as nettles, dandelions and other plants formerly considered 'weeds', plus foxgloves, primroses and campion. All of these not only provide pollen and nectar for pollinators, but egg-laying opportunities for other insects, including butterflies and moths.

Make homes for wildlife

Shelter is just as important as food and water. As wild habitats are increasingly diminished, our gardens become important havens. Make habitat piles from twigs and leaves, open up your compost heap so wildlife such as bumblebees and slow worms can use them, and leave some areas wild where plant debris can accumulate, among long grass and shrubs. Not cutting back plants in autumn is also extremely beneficial to hibernating insects.

As well as natural habitats, you can erect a variety of bird boxes to suit different types of bird, and bee hotels for solitary bees.