Washington Post: The 'no mow' movement could transform our lawns [View all]

Across the Lower 48 states, there are about 40 million acres of lawn, according to a 2005 NASA estimate derived from satellite imaging. These spaces could be havens for pollinating critters, many of which are facing widespread habitat loss. Having more food sources available for pollinators in the early spring is especially critical for their survival.

Transforming a traditional turf lawn into a more pollinator-friendly area is probably easier than most people might think — and it doesn’t have to look wild, says Melinda Whicher, a supervisory horticulturalist at the Smithsonian Gardens. “There are plenty of very low-growing flowers where you can still mow and the flowers will still be there.”

Still, creating a pollinator lawn will take a bit more thought than just letting grass grow freely, experts say.

“If you have a traditional lawn, letting the grass grow to a foot tall or whatever it would be at the end of May is no value whatsoever,” says Susan Carpenter, native plant garden curator at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum. Grass that long could be harmful to lawn health and become a mowing nightmare.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2023/04/22/long-grass-helps-bees/