When mower is less

Just when the weekends are echoing to the whine, roar and click-clack of a million lawn mowers making hay while the sun shines, the RSPB is appealing to gardeners to reduce their mowing and keep grass a little longer.

The wildlife charity wants gardeners to know that slightly longer lawns are a valuable home and food source for birds and other creatures. And if you can leave some of the wildflowers that grow in lawns too, these are an additional source of food and nectar for bees.

Val Osborne, head of RSPB wildlife inquiries says: "The RSPB is simply suggesting that you cut your lawns a little less frequently and when you do, you set the blades so the grass isn't quite so short.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"We are always being asked what can be done for wildlife at this time of year and one of the easiest and most beneficial measures is to cut back on mowing lawns. And you're even saving yourself a job so everyone's a winner."

Many garden favourites will ground feed in long grass, including song thrushes, blackbirds, dunnocks, finches and house sparrows.

The RSPB is also appealing to local councils to leave roadside verges to grow for a few more weeks, as the wildflowers growing in them are a wildlife haven.

For more information on how to make your garden a wildlife haven sign up to the RSPB's Homes for Wildlife project at www.rspb.org.uk/hfw. You will receive tips and advice on food, shelter and water for planting with practical ideas and seasonal information.

YP MAG 1/5/10

Related topics: