As ‘No Mow May’ begins, one expert gardener has urged people to deconstruct their “patronising” views on what a good garden should look like. 

No Mow May is an annual campaign that encourages anyone with a lawn to not mow it to encourage more pollination and make more space for nature. 

RTÉ’s Dulux Supergarden Judge Monica Alvarez said the campaign isn’t about letting gardens simply become “wild”. 

“It’s letting your garden be pretty,” she told Newstalk Breakfast. 

“We have this unusual perception of a pretty garden, meaning having this perfect lawn like a carpet almost. 

“We need to change that perception, to allow nature to do its thing and allow the balance of nature to survive and to do its thing. 

“If we change the perception and we encourage things like daisies and wildflowers and flying insects, the whole thing changes from ‘Oh, I'm letting my garden go wild’ to ‘I'm letting my garden go pretty’.” 

Growing weeds in No Mow May

Presenter Ciara Kelly asked if No Mow May means she can’t pull weeds that grow in between the gravel outside her home. 

Ms Alvarez said weeding is a “different subject” to not mowing your lawn in the month of May – but also said people can take it farther. 

“I could challenge you to allow it to go a little bit further,” she said. 

“Encourage those beautiful wildflowers – I don’t call them weeds.  

“I think that it's a very patronising thing for us humans to decide that something is a weed. 

Numerous flowers bloom in a wildflower meadow. Photo: Daniel Bockwoldt/dpa

“A weed is a plant that grows where you do not want it - what changes the name of the weed is the fact that you do want it. 

“If from now on for about three weeks, you are allowing yourself to actually want those things in your garden and begin to look at them with a different eye. 

“I'm going to look at those flowers and I'm going to observe how many flying insects come in and I'm going to enjoy them, just like with the mind of a child with the wonder of nature.” 

Presenter Shane Coleman was unconvinced, ruling that unmowed lawns look “shabby”. 

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