The following is from “No Mow May” by Hopewell Township resident and nature blogger, Samantha Bean:
No Mow May is a conservation initiative first popularized by Plantlife, an organization based in the United Kingdom, but which is gaining traction across North America. 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. (See more at Bee City USA)
This is part of the reason I drove home from my twice daily commute on a country back road in Hopewell Township with a pit in my stomach. The Packera aurea (Golden Ragwort) and the Geranium maculatum (Wild Geranium) and the dainty blooms of the Zizia aurea or Golden Alexander, to name a few, that I gazed at happily while driving, were gone. They were mowed down completely over a period of two days in the middle of May. No more, save for the few between the telephone pole and support wire that were spared from the rotating blades. All that remained were a few bright yellow umbrels that look like fireworks dappling the roadside. Pollinator beacons of hope.
Everything must go! Weeds, natives, caterpillars. All of it. The pit in my stomach was lessened slightly when I noticed that the mower skipped over a large patch of native ferns intentionally.
I immediately told my husband who is on the Environmental Commission for Hopewell Township. This is one step in the right direction. For the pollinators, and for educating the public on the importance of native flowers. These flowers do not obstruct any vision while driving and I believe they should stay. Or at the very least, they can be mowed when they have finished blooming, later on in the season, after they start to die back from the heat of the summer sun.
To read more, see the original posting on flutterbymeadows.com here.
Thanks so much to Samantha for sharing. Do you have something to share? Email us at [email protected]!
