Every Flower Counts

PUT THE LAWNMOWER AWAY FOR 'NO MOW MAY'

Plants need pollinators and pollinators need plants, but both are in decline, so this month why not sit back and let the grass grow? UK charity Plantlife are asking all those with a lawn to change their mowing routines and encouraging them to leave their lawnmowers in the shed for #NoMowMay.

As you know pollinators are vital in keeping up the health of our ecosystem and we need to give them the biggest chance possible to thrive but according to Plantlife, since the 1930s, we have lost nearly 7.5 million acres of flower-rich meadows and pastures. Now only 1% of our countryside provides this floral feast!

However, with around 15 million gardens in Britain, they are keen to explore the potential of lawns in becoming major sources of nectar by doing a survey of the flowers in them and calculating how much nectar can be produced. As your grass grows, you should start noticing all sorts of flowers, from daisies to buttercups, cuckooflowers to clover and a variety of bees, butterflies and insects being drawn to them.Then, between 23rd and 31st May 2020, Plantlife would like us count the numbers and types of wild flowers on our lawns and let them know.

From our results they will calculate a National Nectar Index to show how lawns across Britain are helping to feed our pollinators as well as revealing the top ten lawn flowers in Britain and they hope to use this information to monitor trends over time. Can we manage our lawns differently to increase the National Nectar Score? Will Climate Change have an impact on flowering and nectar production? What are the most abundant flowers and what can we do to encourage them?

By taking part in Every Flower Counts, you'll help them answer these questions and receive your very own Personal Nectar Score to show how many bees your lawn can support.

For more information and to register please go to the 'Every Flower Counts' page of the Plantlife website.