Yeo Valley says no to mowing this May
The garden and conservation teams at Yeo Valley Organic are hanging up their lawn mowers this month in a bid to put nature first and encourage bees and pollinators to flourish.
Yeo Valley’s sites across Somerset and Devon including its HQ, factories and its six and half acre Organic Garden in Blagdon will not be mowed this month in support of conservation charity Plantlife’s No Mow May initiative.
Sarah Mead, Yeo Valley Organic’s Head Gardener said, “If you only do one thing this year to improve your garden’s value for nature, take a more relaxed approach and cut your grass less, and not at all in May. It not only improves lawn’s value for nature but can provide an easy and accessible way to add more interest to your garden, as regular cutting can deprive essential pollinators of an important food source.”
Plantlife is encouraging gardeners and local councils not to mow in May and let the grounds, including roadside verges, to roam free and wildflowers to bloom providing a nectar feast for hungry pollinators.
At the end of May, Plantlife encourages everyone who participated in No Mow May to take part in the “Every Flower Counts” survey to help discover how many bees the UK’s lawns can feed and the health of the nations’ wildflowers. Research shared by Plantlife said that last year the UK had the driest May since 1896, which had a severe impact on flowers. Their surveys showed a 56% reduction in dandelion flowers and 40% reduction in daisies on lawns.
Sarah Mead added: “We’ve changed our approach at the Yeo Valley Organic Garden to take a wilder more sustainable view, moving away from formal lawns. As our climate is changing we need to learn to use our gardens in a different way. Small changes we can make can have a collective impact on our environment. Putting your feet up instead of getting the mower out is top of the list!”
Yeo Valley Organic is encouraging everyone that visits its organic garden in Blagdon, to join them in switching off their mowers for the month.
