12°C
Like many home gardeners, the team here at Winterbourne is constantly thinking about how to be more sustainable in their work, and better look after the environment that we all care so much about. Whether it’s large-scale projects which shape the ongoing development of Winterbourne’s historic botanical garden, or small adjustments in how the team cares for the garden on a day-to-day basis, every choice we make has an impact on our local environment. Not only that, but the choices that we make in caring for this special site, as well as the choices you make in looking after your own green spaces, contribute to the much broader health of our planet.
As we prepare to participate in Plantlife’s annual campaign, No Mow May, Winterbourne gardener Jack is opening the lid on some of Winterbourne’s most vital sustainable gardening practices, and sharing his tips on how you can implement these in your own garden.
No Mow May is an annual campaign organised by Plantlife, encouraging people to pack away their lawn mowers and allow their lawns to grow freely for an entire month. The goal? Healthier and more diverse lawns. Passionate about sustainable gardening, No Mow May was one of the very first green initiatives Jack implemented at Winterbourne when he joined the team as a trainee.
As a visitor attraction ready to welcome thousands of visitors over the next month, we can’t completely lock away our lawn mowers; we’ll still be keeping Winterbourne’s lawns in the tip-top shape you’d expect from an Arts and Crafts garden. However, in our back of house areas, used primarily for teaching and learning, we’ll be letting the grass grow, and of course keeping a close eye on what other plant species pop-up.
When participating in No Mow May last year, we surveyed our lawns at the start and end of the month to measure the impact that avoiding the lawn mower had. There was an explosion in plant diversity in our teaching and learning gardens: field daisies, cornflowers, poppies and thistles were just a few of the species that flourished.
The benefits or letting lawns grow reach further than just increasing plant diversity. It gives pollinators a richer diet, creates additional habitats for a variety of wildlife, helps to propagate other species by keeping the moisture in the lawn, and reduces emissions from the use of diesel lawn mowers.
So, what are Jack’s top tips for participating in No Mow May at home?
Whilst Jack is a huge advocate for Plantlife’s campaign and has been the driving force behind Winterbourne’s participation in the initiative, he also recommends waiting a while, and putting your lawnmower away in June or July, meaning you’re more likely to get flowering species. If you want to take it one step further, try to refrain from mowing your lawn for longer than a month, letting the flowers go to seed, to improve the rich diversity of your lawn even more in years to come.
If you are planning to lock away your lawn mower this spring, we’d love to see the results. Make sure to tag us in your progress pictures on Instagram and Facebook and use the hashtag #NoMowMay. Head to the PlantLife website to find out more about their campaign.
From swerving the lawn mower, to dead hedging and composting more garden waste, Jack and the team’s green initiatives are helping to improve the sustainability of Winterbourne. We’re reducing our carbon emissions, finding ways to increase active carbon storage, and championing biodiversity throughout the garden.
To find out more about our green initiatives, see the behind-the-scenes of this special site, and get expert tips and advice on how to practice more sustainable gardening at home, make sure to join Jack for No Mow May: Walk and Talk on Wednesday 7 May. Please note that pre-booking is required for this session.