02/05/2026
The way we think about lawns is slowly shifting — and No Mow May is definitely part of that conversation, but maybe the change needs to go further than a month.
My garden is small, but even a small space can shift. This patch hasn’t been regularly mown for a few years, and it’s slowly become something else.
A couple of years ago I added a few bulbs — Camassia, Allium christophii and gladiolus byzantinus — which bring early colour before the grasses and wild plants take over.
It’s not a “meadow” in any pure sense — it’s messy, mixed, mostly grass, a fair bit of bindweed — but it’s full of life. Bees, butterflies, grasshoppers… it hums in a way a mown lawn never does.
If leaving the whole lawn is a step too far for you maybe consider leaving a patch or two. For example longer grass around a bench can be really lovely. For larger gardens mowing paths through longer grass, letting other areas run a bit wilder, keeping a sense of intention without everything being cut short is much easier to maintain and better for the environment.
A small experiment, really, in letting go a little — and seeing what returns.
With around 23 million private gardens in the UK, even small shifts in how we manage them add up to something significant for biodiversity.
The first four slides are how it’s looking right now, swipe through to see the stages and swipe to the end to see at the height of summer last year.
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ABOUT: Joe Perkins Design is a multi-award-winning landscape design consultancy, creating innovative outdoor spaces that celebrate the environment, wildlife, and biodiversity. Working across the UK and internationally, we partner with clients who share our passion for sustainable and visionary design. Discover more about our work at: www.joeperkinsdesign.com
