According to nature and garden experts, you should not mow the lawn in May. Instead, hobby gardeners should rather promote insect diversity in their own garden.
Berlin – It's spring, the birds are chirping and the smell of freshly mown meadow is in the air. This is not good for insects. Actually, you shouldn't mow the lawn in May, as a garden expert reveals.
For insects and other animals, a mowed lawn is not a sufficient habitat and the hobby gardener can also benefit from joining the "mowing-free May". Some gardening work is even prohibited from March to October.
| Mow-free May | Action of the German Horticultural Society |
| Purpose | no lawn mowing in May |
| Goal | more habitat for insects, biodiversity |
| Benefits for gardeners | wild flowers, more insects and pollination, less work |
No lawn mowing in May: insects need grass for nesting, as habitat and food
In April and May, many hobby gardeners in Germany start to spruce up their garden and mowing is part of the lawn care in spring for many. At this time, flowers and plants as well as the home lawn are also needed by many small creatures, which find their habitat, food or nesting opportunities in them.
In the spring, you may want to change the oil of the lawnmower and clean it before use, if this has not been done before storage in winter. © Imago
For this reason, in Germany it is recommended not to mow the lawn at all in May. The German Horticultural Society 1822 e.V. (DGG) therefore calls for a "mowing-free May" every year, which NABU now also supports in order to protect insects and the like and for the benefit of wild birds. As Managing Director Bettina de la Chevallerie reveals in an interview with the German Press Agency, leaving the lawnmower standing also has a few advantages for the gardener.
Leave lawn mowers: What amateur gardeners get out of not mowing in May
One advantage of not mowing the lawn is that you save work. And in this case, hobby gardeners don't even need a lazy excuse, but can cite the variety of insects as the reason when a curious neighbor asks why the meadow is so high.
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Due to the increased settlement of insects that pollinate lawn plants, hobby gardeners will soon be able to discover completely new plants in their garden, such as daisies, which can even be eaten, clover, the well-known yellow dandelion, Gundermann, Ehrenpreis and even daisies and cowslips. These wild herbs should not only look pretty, but also have "a high ecological value for the insects," says de la Chevallerie. "Studies have shown that the proportion of nectar-rich flowers increases tenfold if you leave the lawnmower more often." More pollinating insects in the garden can also be an advantage for the orchard or flower bed.
Compromise between mowing and sprouting: This allows insects and humans to share the lawn
According to wohnglück.de, 79 percent of all households in Germany have a garden or a plantable outdoor area such as a balcony or terrace. "We already know that there are more niches and more biodiversity in private gardens than in the wild," explains de la Chevallerie.
More insects in the garden also means more plant diversity and new, interesting wildflowers. (archive image). © Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa
In order for people to still be able to use the garden, you can agree to a compromise and mow only half of it or leave flowering islands. If you only need a walkway through the meadow, you can also mow just one strip. The best way to do this is to turn circles from the inside to the outside with the lawnmower, "so that the insects can flee into the hedges or into the neighboring garden," as de la Chevallerie advises.
She also reveals a rule of thumb as to how high you should set the lawnmower so that there is enough lawn left for the insects: "A lying beer bottle should still fit under the lawnmower. Underneath, you pull out too much or cut too deeply, so that it no longer blooms."