| Vermont Home Gardener No Mow May… let the pollinators play The idea is very simple and it makes sense. Avoid mowing your lawn in the month of May so that those early wildflowers (dandelions, clover, violets, etc.) can blossom and provide early nectar for pollinators. It will even help if you just don't mow areas that have lots of dandelions and clover blossoming. These flowers are the first available major food for many wild pollinators, honeybees and bumblebees, and gives them a spring boost. It also gives you a valid excuse to delay mowing! If you like this idea, you can extend the benefits by mowing less lawn all summer and converting some areas into pollinator gardens. Also, planting extra pollinator friendly flowers (sunflowers, cosmos, zinnias, basil, catnip, thyme, etc.) in your gardens will provide ongoing support of pollinators. After May when I find a patch of later flowering wild plants in the lawn I avoid mowing there until they have finished blossoming. At the very least, raise your mower blades to 4-5 inches to mow higher. That results in healthier grass with deeper roots and lets the grass outcompete many weeds. More information is available at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture website. |
