No Mow May?

Anyone who has cultured a completely weed free lawn won't be too invested in the idea. Besides, leave a weed free lawn to continue growing won’t help anything, other than produce cattle fodder, and when the grass is a foot high, possibly harbouring those nasty tics, it will need a brush cutter or that scythe to cut it down. Meanwhile kids and dogs will have to play in the street and the family spring barbecue will have to be cancelled.

As for an already weed filled lawn, if the owner cared, it will grow tall as well, except, being filled with weeds, there might be a crop of flowers for the benefit of wildlife. But will there? Maybe a little if clover is flowering, but it’s more likely to be non-native plants like creeping Charlie and dandelions that have already taken over.

But wait, according to another popular internet meme, aren’t dandelions an early source of food for bees, and we should let them grow. It’s not as simple as that. Despite valid concerns about bees having pollen and nectar available, hungry bees swarming around dandelions are a rare sight, and if they do attract a few visitors, it’s more than likely they’re non-native honeybees.

Dandelions do offer a good source of nectar but the pollen isn’t as nutritious as other sources. The smart bees are in the trees, especially fruit trees which bloom around the same time as dandelions. I don’t know if anyone has noticed, but even if bees were interested in dandelions, there are millions, if not billions of the yellow beauties around any city. They’re growing well on playing fields, boulevards, and lots of backyards. There’s plenty to go around for any bee that fancies them, so I wouldn’t worry about mowing them or not.

For anyone who wants to help bees and other wildlife (except tulip ravishing rabbits) there are better ways than not mowing in May. Plant fruit trees, even ornamental ones, or add a flowerbed filled with early blooming spring flowers.

A fence to fence, bright yellow yard might be better than nothing for bees, but not nearly as good as a garden filled with a range of plants. And the place will look a lot better than a bright yellow shag carpet.