No Mow May is back and once again I am grateful to Maidstone Borough Council for allowing our local park to go wild for the month. It is really interesting to see how different the plants are this year from last, with fewer daisies and a greater covering of clover.
I was encouraged to hear Rebecca Pow, Parliamentary Under Secretary at DEFRA, speak so passionately recently on the Pollinator Action Plan and the 5 simple things we can all be doing to encourage and protect our bees and other pollinators, which include:
1. Grow more flowers, shrubs and trees.
2. Let your garden grow wild (at least for some of the year - i.e. don't cut back too harshly ahead of winter to provide over-wintering areas).
3. Cut your grass less often.
4. Do not disturb insect nest and hibernation spots.
5. Think carefully about whether to use pesticides.
Find out more about what you can do here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/bees-needs-food-and-a-home and look out for Bees' Needs week in July (9th to 17th).