No Mow May

It's #NoMowMay!! 🐝🐛🐜🐞🌱

The month of May is when all the grasses and wildflowers such as dandelions and buttercups start to sprout up and grow in abundance in people's back gardens, public parks and countryside.  These provide a rich and sheltered habitat for bees and butterflies to live in, and these tiny creatures perform valuable tasks such as pollination which help to spread diversity and colour throughout our landscape.

Mowing these down will only reduce the biodiversity of the area and make it harder for animals and insects to exist in that environment.  No Mow May is a campaign to get people to think about their local ecosystems and to think twice before mowing their grassy areas just to make them look neat or tidy.

If you can leave an area to just go wild then that's the best option!  If you want to bring some sense of tidiness to your garden, try just mowing down the middle and leaving the edges to grow. Alternatively, get creative and mow different shapes such as a figure of eight into your lawn to break up the areas that are mowed/not mowed.  If you want to go even further, the National Trust has shared a video on how to make a 'scaremow' to encourage people not to mow their lawns.  

Not mowing your lawn is really crucial to protecting some of the UK's most valuable plant and insect species.  The Conservation Charity 'Plantlife' is asking people to do a survey of the plants and flowers in their lawn at the end of May to see the diversity of plants and flowers that have been able to grow.  You can also take part in their Great British Wildflower Hunt where they are asking people to go searching for different species and hopefully learn some new ones along the way. 

Why not take a look at their website www.plantlife.org.uk and see what you can learn or do in your local area 🌼

Saving water

You might have noticed that it hasn't really rained much over these past few weeks.  Plants in the garden are looking a little drier than normal, and buds and leaves are seeming slow to burst and blossom due to the cold dry air that has been lingering for some time.  I've been out in my outdoor spaces trying to get things ready for early summer and get some seeds sown, but it hasn't escaped my attention that the soil is looking dry and cracked and in need of a good rain shower.

What we can do when nature needs a bit of a helping hand?  Turning the hose on and giving the garden a good old water is an obvious choice, but if water levels are low overall then we run the risk of depleting supplies even further.  Water demands are only getting higher with all the appliances that we run daily that use lots of water, and climate change is causing the supply of water available to decline. So what can we do?

Water conservation is the key and there are a number of actions we can take.  Year-round rainwater harvesting is a good option as it makes use of the natural abundance of water from the sky.  It is also a better choice than tap water as it doesn't contain chlorine and other chemicals that may exist in treated water.  You can also channel water from gutters and pipes that would otherwise go down the drain. Buy a water butt to store your water in and use a watering can to carry the water to the plants that need it.  

Grey water is water that has been used for washing and cleaning.  This water can also be used for watering plants though it's best to use it straight away rather than storing it.  Soil and compost can usually filter out any mild residue of soap and detergent.  Make sure you use this water on general plants and not ones that are going to be eaten.  

Finally, if water supplies are low then chances are that birds, insects and other wildlife are also struggling for a drink.  Consider putting a bird bath in your garden for birds to drink from or wash in.  Building a mini pond or even putting a large washing up bowl of water in your garden somewhere can also act as a vital drinking source.  Keep an eye on it and make sure it stays topped up as temperatures continue to rise and rainfall levels stay low.

For more information, visit the RHS website to find out how to save and store water.

The Wildlife Trusts website has some good information on how to build a pond.

Activity: Planting sunflowers

Sunflowers are an easy plant to grow and very rewarding when you see how tall they've become!  In a few simple steps, you can get your own sunflower plants off to a great start and you can even do it using sustainable, plastic-free resources.

First, you need to get hold of some sunflowers seeds.  April and May is the best time to start to grow sunflowers.  You can easily find seeds in garden centres at this time, or sometimes supermarkets and hardware shops (my local ironmongers has loads of cheap seeds that are easy to grow!) If you know someone who has previously grown sunflowers, you could ask them if they have any spare seeds from the previous year.

To help the seeds germinate, place them in some damp kitchen roll and place on a warm window-sill for a couple of days.  This isn't essential but might just help them get started before putting them into the soil. 

You can then sow your seeds straight into the ground, or you might like to start them off in some small containers such as yoghurt pots or tin cans.  All you need is some fresh soil or compost and a trowel or spoon to dig the soil.  Place the seeds in about 1cm down and cover them over.  Make sure you give them a good initial watering.  

As the seeds start to grow you might want to thin them out (move then a bit further away from each other) to give them maximum space and light to grow.  Slugs and snails love to eat the new shoots so you can protect them by cutting the top off an old plastic drinks bottle and place it over your new shoots.  

As your sunflower gets taller, support it with a cane or secure it to a nearby fence so it can reach even higher.  If you like, you can feed it with tomato feed which you can buy from a garden centre.  

Finally, once your sunflower has bloomed and faded, harvest the seeds for next year so you can grow more sunflowers without having to buy more seeds 🌻

Planting blossom trees

We are approaching blossom season! 🌸🌸🌸

To boost the amount of blossom trees in the UK, the National Trust is pledging to plant hundreds of blossom trees at different sites including London, Nottingham, Newcastle and Plymouth.  These will include varieties such as cherry, hazel and plum which all give beautiful pink flowers in the spring.  The project is hoping to boost nature in these areas where there is currently not much access to green space and to give people a closer connection to the natural world. 

The inspiration for this has come from Japan where each spring they have "Hanami" - the celebration of flowers at the arrival of spring.  Trees are in bloom everywhere you look and it creates quite a spectacle which people travel from far and wide to see.  By boosting the number of trees (particularly blossoming trees) it is hoped that it will create a similar spectacle in the UK and draw people's attention to the beauty of nature.  Many populations live in 'grey deserts' in the UK where there are large areas of no trees or green space, and this can have an impact on people's mental health, and their appreciation and respect for the natural world.  

Blossom is also plays an important in supporting ecosystems.  An abundance of pollen increases the number of pollinating insects such as bees, wasps, beetles and flies.  These in turn feed birds in the local area who can further spread pollen and seeds.  When looked at together, these behaviours all help to make a richer environment that can support a more diverse wealth of wildlife.  

Why not think about planting some blossoming trees in your garden or school?  The sight of blossoming trees can spark interest in young children and help them to understand the life cycle of trees and the seasons. You could even incorporate these events in to lessons, and do some research into places like Japan who have amazing blossom events every year!

To find out more, visit the BBC to learn about the blossom planting project; or kiddle to find out more about Japan's seasonal blossoming 🌸🌸🌸

The meaning of roses

There are an abundance of roses in the shops at the moment in readiness for Valentines Day, but since when were roses a symbol for love and why are roses important?

Here are some rose facts for you:

🌹There are hundreds of different types of roses including ones that grow in bushes, on the ground, or climbing walls and fences

🌹Roses come in many different colours including red, white, pink, coral, white and peach, each one with a different meaning

🌹Roses are known for their gentle floral scent and have long been included in perfumes and confectionery 

🌹Roses are one of the oldest flowers and fossils of roses have been found from 35 million years ago

🌹Flowers have long been given as a gift to show love, and roses are particularly linked to Venus/Aphrodite who was the goddess of love in Roman/Greek times

Roses are a beautiful flower to have in the garden at any time of year and there are so many different types to choose from.  They are known for enhancing biodiversity and insects thrive on the pollen they produce.  Rose hips provide an important source of food for birds in autumn and winter, and rose bushes can make an ideal nesting place for birds and give shelter to smaller mammals. 

If you want to grow a rose in your garden, visit a rose specialist or ask someone for advice in a local garden centre.  The type of rose that may grow best may depend on your garden and how much shade or sunlight it will have.  Roses are fairly hardy plants though and with the right care and attention to pruning, they will be sure to give you an abundance of flowers all summer long 🌹

To find out more, visit the RHS's guide to growing roses.