Hi Gardeners
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| Fritillaria |
It’s a busy time for me as I’m sure it is for all of
you. We went from too cold and wet to
work outside to too hot and dry in too short of time. Thankfully it looks like spring is going to
moderate a bit in the coming weeks. Don’t get too far ahead of yourself just because
it’s been hot for a few days. In zones 5 and lower, frost and even a freeze
could still happen. In these zones I’d hold off on planting tomatoes and
peppers and bringing the houseplants outside for a week or two.
I am eager to get my houseplants outside. I have so many in
the windows I can’t get most of the windows open in this heat until they are
all moved. But I will be patient at least a week longer. I haven’t even started
my veggie garden yet- things have been too hectic, but I hope to get lettuce
planted this week and maybe a grow bag of potatoes.
Most of the spring flowering bulbs have burst into bloom
here, only some alliums and late tulips (the few the deer left) have yet to
bloom. The daffodils and hyacinths are actually fading away. My trilliums are
blooming. The magnolia, redbud, flowering quince and clove current are in
bloom. My lilacs are beginning to bloom. Apple trees are in bloom. The akebia
and paw paw have big buds.
I haven’t bought any annuals yet, except the pansies, which
aren’t liking this heat. I did do some on line shopping for plants on
clearance- there’s some good prices out there now and many places are waiving
shipping fees. I bought some nice fuchsias from Select Seed, and some salvias.
Both of those are favorite plants of mine. (They have potted plants as well as
seed.) I’m hoping I can get to the greenhouses this week some time for bedding
plants and baskets. I’ll slowly plant them, keeping an eye on the weather.
All of the birds are back, and they are going through feed
like crazy. I noticed that the rose breasted grosbeaks and the purple house
finches are helping the orioles eat the grape jelly this year. The crows
already have fledglings because I hear their noisy calls all around. The sand
hill cranes have also been noisy, they must be in mating season. The Canada geese have goslings already. I saw
an immature Bald Eagle the other day, he makes that loud eagle scream that
draws your attention.
I love this time of year and I’m trying to enjoy as much of
it as I can, and I hope you are too.
Please MOW IN MAY
My lawn, 6 days after mowing
This No Mow May thing is truly silly. It’s obvious some well-meaning but
horticulturally- ecologically naïve people started this. Look at this picture
of my lawn. It’s an unimproved lawn- it doesn’t get “weeded” it only gets
mowed. And it was mowed just 6 days ago. It’s getting mowed today too. Look how many flowers are down in that grass
for pollinators. Dandelions, violets, selfheal, ground ivy, and a number of
other lawn weeds are making a feast for pollinators. I mow so the lawn is never
shorter than 3 inches, but I try to mow before it gets to 5 inches.
After I mow, many flowers are still visible. The plants will
replace any flowers cut off in just a day or two. The birds will be right down
there on the lawn after I mow looking for bugs I’ve stirred up. Everybody’s
happy.
The flowering weeds in your lawn are able to bloom even
after mowing providing you observe the 3-inch rule. If fact if you let the grass get longer than
about 4-5 inches those flowering weeds the pollinators love will be smothered
and quit blooming. In the average May, a lawn could grow to 6-8 inches high
easily, many will be a foot deep. The
longer the grass gets the fewer flowering weeds will be available to
pollinators. Lawn weeds are adapted to mowing and mowing keeps them in bloom
longer.
Yes, there are a few weeds that might bloom at a greater
height but many of them you don’t want to encourage by giving them a good head
start. Thistles, burdock, stinging
nettles, quickly come to mind. If you
give them the month of May without cutting them down, you are going to regret
it. They are going to be very hard to control through summer.
Sapling trees, spreading plants like bamboo, mint, comfrey,
Virginia creeper, trumpet vine, wild grapes and other aggressive weeds need
early and frequent mowing to keep them in check. They will take over your lawn
and soon any remaining grass and those smaller flowering weeds that pollinators
love will be gone.
Most of you who started the month happily going along with
the social media driven NO MOW MAY fad are probably looking at your lawn with a
bit of anxiety right now. May is the month when lawns grow the fastest. It may
look lush and full of flowers now but how long before the mower is going to
have a hard time cutting through all that?
Just wait until the end of the month when you are cutting hay so to
speak. It’s going to be a hard, slow go, and some mowers won’t handle it.
When you do cut that lawn and most of you will- it’s going
to look very yellow and ugly for a week or so. The green chlorophyll laden
parts of the blade are at the end- in the sun- and way down the blade near the
ground you are going to have the yellowish, stem part of the grass. Eventually
the plant will green up those cut stems, but it won’t be pretty for a while. And
this is much harder on the grass than frequent mowing is.
Overly long lawns are good hiding places for adult
mosquitoes, ticks, mice, voles, rats, rabbits and snakes. Many songbirds do not
like really long grass as it hides predators and makes seeing insects and worms
harder. They’ll move on to better edge habitat.
If you want to get rid of your lawn, and you legally can
have a meadow instead of a lawn, do it. Just stop mowing. But if the leniency
from your local government about cutting your lawn ends when June begins, you
are better off with a weekly mowing in May. Plant beds of flowers for
pollinators or leave an un-mowed strip near the lawn edge if you must.
Keeping your lawn about 3 inches long in May is actually
better for the flowering lawn weeds pollinators love, and your grass, than
letting it go all month without mowing. (And of course, you won’t use weed
killers on your lawn if you like wildlife.) But I’m thinking most smart “lawn
tenders” are soon going to realize that the NO MOW MAY movement is not so good
for pollinators and people. It was a dumb idea that wasn’t thought through and
didn’t have the input of horticultural experts.
“I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it’s cold
outside, I’ve got the month of May.” – Smokey Robinson
Kim Willis
Contact me at kimwillis151@gmail.com
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