Earl pointed out a sign today that someone had put up in their yard for No Mow May and I was so excited to see it! This is something that we’ve been doing with our yard for the last several years. We try really hard not to mow the yard in May. Many of you are likely wondering why would we do that?
May is the month that seems to always have the most flowers. They just carpet the yard from the yellow dandelions to the purple and white violets, the ground mint with purple flowers, mini white flowers and countless other varieties of flowers just everywhere. Each year that we haven’t mowed in May we’ve found that those patches of flowers expand the next year. Each year it’s exciting to watch the carpets of wildflowers expand across the yard in the month of May.
I have a special fondness for violets as they were my Grandmother’s favorite. They come in a few varieties of white purple and yellow. After today I’ve also discovered that the one of the varieties of mini white flowers are a form of violets.
This is another variety of tiny white flower known as Thymeleaf Speedwell. It’s incredibly small.
This is another variety in one of my favorite places in the yard. This is Wood Anemone and it’s located under a large oak tree in what I call our little fairy grove at the edge of the field. I love this spot.
This is another favorite that really changed my yard. It’s wild mint. It’s an ivy ground cover that is in the mint family. It is out there all year and has the most beautiful purple flowers. The bees absolutely love it and every time we mow our lawn it smells like mint.
Here are some pretty yellow flowers that are also all over our yard and often mix in with our wild mint.
No Mow May was started to help save the Bees. As you know so many Americans really love their lawns. I get it. Sometimes there is nothing better than that soft carpet of lush grass under your toes in the warm months. The question is what price we are paying to get that. Most lawns like that are using pesticides that do a number on the population of insects and the flowers not to mention the animals, the ground, our water and us. So while the lawn may look beautiful, a natural habitat is being destroyed. Often Society will have you believe that flowers like Dandelions are signs of a neglected lawn when they provide color, make amazing tea and salad and help the insects like the bees survive. I didn’t even include them in all the flowers I showed you above.
In doing less with your lawn you will have the chance to find the most beautiful flowers in your yard and you will also make some wonderful insect friends, find more birds, bees and other animals. Also if you are in an area with fireflies this made one of the biggest differences in our yard. The fireflies are in their larval state right now. When you leave them alone you will have more of them. You should see our yard in a couple of weeks. So so many fireflies. I actually had a variety of one that decided to hang out with me on my chair the other day.
Little changes can add up to big differences. Even if you don’t want to stop mowing your lawn for the month, try to leave more areas that you don’t mow, create more patches of flowers. We have an entire hill in our yard that is full of wildflowers all summer. We simply don’t mow it and we’ve been going out with seeds trying to boost the wildflowers in that area. Each year we get more. Try not to use pesticides as they cause so much damage. If we can change the opinion of what is beautiful we can do a lot to help in so many ways. I personally think any flowers are beautiful. No Mow May is a great way to start. If you can designate natural areas on your property that are no mow zones all year, that can also have a huge impact on your area. I think we should do anything we can all year. <3 Any change you make is a difference and can help.
I hope that you have a magickal day!
Much Love and Many Blessings,
Jasmeine Moonsong