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Jul 2020
5:10pm, 13 Jul 2020
3,137 posts
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jacdaw
Scarify the lawn before you scatter native wild flower seeds in the autumn. Any other kind of lawn is an ecological desert.
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Jul 2020
8:51pm, 13 Jul 2020
70,608 posts
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Hanneke
As Jackdaw says: lawns are a waste of space, habitat wise. Best thing you can do for nature is let it grow, cut it really really short in September, scarify it to an inch of its life and scatter a good 50/50 annual and perennial wildflower mix. I use Emorsgate seeds. You can choose different mixes for the conditions of your area. I chose a specific perennial pollinator mix for my new entrance and have seeded it with that 
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Jul 2020
9:23pm, 13 Jul 2020
6,202 posts
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Eynsham Red
I’ve only got a very small patch of lawn (about 12’x12’) which has just been left to grow this year as we’ve got a lot of tadpoles in our pond and didn’t want to chop up froglets when mowing.
I might consider sowing a mix come September, as it’s not not much more than moss and dandelions normally.
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Jul 2020
9:30pm, 13 Jul 2020
6,741 posts
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sallykate
I've not cut our lawn (it's a small communal lawn in front of the flat - I'd guess about the same size as Eynsham Red's) for about six weeks now; I enjoyed seeing the bees on the clover so I left it. I will cut it as it's not really just my decision as to what happens but I'm tempted by the idea of sowing more flower seeds for next year.
Earlier in the year I had a zero tolerance approach to dandelions and picked the flowers every day before they had a chance to go to seed. I've not seen one for weeks now.
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Jul 2020
9:46pm, 13 Jul 2020
10,655 posts
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rf_fozzy
I have to cut my lawn every now and then, or it's used as a latrine for all the local cats.
I've at least stopped them crapping on my flower bed.
I also quite like sitting on my grass.
I do wish the council would stop cutting the verges and the common greenspace opposite my house every 2-3 weeks though. I'm thinking of planting some bushes on the verges outside my house to stop them cutting my bit so often.
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Jul 2020
10:03pm, 13 Jul 2020
20,002 posts
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Columba
You could contact the council about it, rf. Point out it would save them money if they only cut it twice a year, as well as promoting environmental diversity.
I find lawns very boring. I got rid of the one in the front altokgether (in favour of flowering plants interspersed with stepping stones) but still have one at the back which needs mowing for the same reason as rf's does; cats' lats. I considered replacing the grass lawn with a camomile lawn, which doesn't need mowing, until I realised what it would cost to buy that much lawn camomile.
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Jul 2020
10:06pm, 13 Jul 2020
18,894 posts
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Angus Clydesdale
My "lawn" is so full of clover, buttercup and moss that there’s barely any room for the dandelions. It’s a long way from a waste of habitat space....
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Jul 2020
10:21pm, 13 Jul 2020
3,138 posts
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jacdaw
You can have a short lawn with diverse species, if you manage it properly. Clover and selfheal at very least will flower in a lawn kept quite short. It doesn't have to be a long hay meadow cut once a year, just preferably not a monoculture.
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Jul 2020
11:36pm, 13 Jul 2020
20,195 posts
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Dvorak
Quite, Angus. Don't anybody dare call my lawns ecological deserts!
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Jul 2020
2:41pm, 14 Jul 2020
13,315 posts
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Garfield
We haven't mown our lawn in several years...well, since the mower died. It gets to a certain height then stops growing.
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