I recently read an interesting article in the New York Times titled “No Mow May”.
The article was about a town in Wisconsin that had adopted this conservation initiative first popularized in the U.K. The goal of No Mow May is to allow grass to grow unmown for the month of May creating habitat and forage for early season pollinators. In Texas we might have to call it No Mow March or April.
There are at least three good reasons for a no mow season or section of your yard. When you are not mowing flowering plants will pop up and bee presence will increase. One study showed a fivefold increase in bee abundance and threefold increase in bee diversity. As un-expected flowers pop up you might find native plant species to admire and nurture. And you’ll save time and gas as you enjoy the diversity in your personal green space.
The favorite plant I have found by not mowing my yard is antelope-horns milkweed (Asclepias asperula). You may already know what is so special about this native plant; it is the larval host for those picky eaters, the monarch butterfly caterpillars. I have three other species of asclepias in my yard and am very protective of them. When mowing time does come I mow around. I also have enjoyed the native petunias (Ruellia) that grow in a shady area of my backyard.
The pretty violet flowers soften the heat of our long summer.
We pride ourselves on what we call the Wimberley Way. Perhaps encouraging more native plants and less lawn grass for the benefit of pollinators and other critters can become part of that. While keeping your outside lights off for Dark Sky Community try also leaving at least a portion of your lawn safe from the lawn mower. Then this Fall you can scatter wildflower seed in that spot. Let’s Keep Wimberley Beautiful one native patch at a time. That’s the Wimberley Way.
Becky Denton, Hays County Master Naturalists
