This will be the second year we have taken part in No Mow May in our front garden.
The campaign is run by PlantLife and you can read more details about it HERE
There are three simple steps:
- Simply leave your mower in the shed for No Mow May and let the flowers grow.
- From 23rd May to 31st May take part in Every Flower Counts by counting the number of flowers in a random square metre of your lawn.
- Enter your counts on the PlantLife website and instantly receive your very own Personal Nectar Score, showing how much nectar is being produced by the flowers on your lawn and how many bees it can support.
The photos below were taken at the beginning of May. There are buttercups, daisies, cowslips, and the start of Oxeye Daisies. After a week the garden is already starting to look a lot different.
We have added some wildflower seeds so hoping for some other species to come up.
We do mow one strip on the edge as last year we found that some bees and birds prefer short grass.
It is only a small patch of garden but we get plenty of visitors, including insects, butterflies, bank voles, wood mice, foxes, badgers, and last week a hedgehog.
The hedge was planted a few years ago and we have noticed a large increase in the number of sparrows and other birds using the garden.
This was what the garden looked like at the end of May last year
Appleton Wildlife Diary by Alex White 
Excellent idea. I shall see if I can enter my French lawn records! Green short lawns are a total waste of potential for wildlife.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love a stand of daisies – so cheerful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know it’s not the official week to count yet, but so far on my lawn I’ve counted daisy, dandelion, forget-me-not and one that I haven’t seen before common ragwort.
Also, interesting to read that you had a hedgehog visit your garden last week despite the presence of badgers. I spoke to a hedgehog expert recently who told me hedgehogs avoid badgers as they both have similar diets, but badgers eat much more of it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They both eat earthworms, although badgers will eat pretty much anything.
We’ve never had both hedgehogs and badgers in the garden at the same time, we had them on the same evening but the hedgehogs come earlier.
I’ve seen plenty of videos of them feeding together, but that is when there is plenty of food for both.
LikeLike