Wildlife Expert Lucy Taylor of Vine House Farm in Deeping St Nicholas gives gardening tips following No Mow May

A wildlife expert who has appeared on BBC Countryfile is sharing tips for homeowners on how to best manage their lawns and gardens.

Lucy Taylor is a fifth generation farmer at Vine House Farm in Deeping St Nicholas which is owned by her father Nicholas Watts.

Since No Mow May is coming to a close, Lucy has shared helpful ways to look after post-spring lawns and how to support garden wildlife during the summer.

She said: “No-mow May has hopefully been an eye-opener for the many households taking on the initiative for the first time, with increased wildlife activity in their gardens and the very attractive appearance of longer grass and, in many cases, the scattering of wildflowers such as dandelions.

“I’ve deliberately referred to dandelions as wildflowers rather than weeds in the context of no-mow May, because if you intend to have them in your garden in certain areas, then by definition they cannot be a weed.

“A multiplying rose bush becomes a weed in a flower bed if you don’t want it there, with this example further helping to explain just what’s meant by the idea of a weed.”

Many people will be wondering whether to mow their lawns, leave them untouched, or take a selective approach, and how each option impacts garden biodiversity.

Lucy said: “For some households, having a lawn which is kept reasonably short is actually a necessity from a practical perspective - to allow young children to play ball games for example.

“But even in such cases, there’s nearly always the potential to leave an area uncut until the end of the summer.

“It’s also the case that the contrast between a cut lawn and uncut area directly next to it makes a highly effective visual feature, and this can be achieved in a number of ways.”

Methods include having the cut sections as pathways running through the uncut patches which can also be ‘great fun for children to run around in and explore.’

Experienced or newer gardeners are rethinking how to use their gardens’ best potential, moving away from perfectly manicured lawns towards more wildlife-friendly spaces that strike a sensible balance.

Lucy said: “For people who hadn’t previously embraced the idea of a more wildlife-friendly garden but have just tried no-mow May for the first time, there is right now a great opportunity for them to reappraise how they use their outdoor space and what it could look like.

“But this isn’t just about wildlife, but also about considering the benefits to the wider environment.

“For example, using powered garden tools like strimmers and mowers much less reduces an individual’s carbon footprint.”

Lucy also hails the benefits of wildflowers in allowing them to be part of a natural garden.

She said: “Uncut lawns and wildflower meadows require little or no watering compared to a manicured lawn.

“Depending on a range of factors including location, soil conditions and the degree of only cultivated grass in the original lawn, wildflowers may or may not easily colonise within a lawn.

“A way to tackle this issue is to use wildflower plugs, which are best pushed into the soil during September and October and following a proper annual cut of the long grass.

Lucy encourages garden lovers to take this opportunity and join the ever-growing movement of people changing the nation’s gardens for the better.

For further information visit www.vinehousefarm.co.uk/wildlife-products

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