There was an interesting letter to the editor last week that tends to discourage the “No Mow May” campaign (“No Mow May-Good intentions, bad idea”). It relied heavily on the pronouncements of the so-called experts from the University of Guelph.
I googled the said article and to my surprise, it only contained the opinion and general statements of the experts without the benefit of a scientific study (https://news.uoguelph.ca/2023/04/no-mow-may-bad-idea-for-canadian-lawns-say-u-of-g-turfgrass-experts/).
One sentence said: “Many early-flowering weeds that can be found in lawns, such as dandelions, are actually an incomplete source of nutrition for pollinators.” Well, no one said that they are complete source of nutrition by themselves.
Instead of the weeds, they want us to spend our precious money by planting “flowering trees, like crabapple, choke cherry and even maple, oak and willow” or “create wildflower zones in home gardens with pollinator-friendly grasses and shrubs to benefit insects and wildlife all year round”. Ha ha. What a joke! These weeds, like dandelions, grow by themselves, produce flowers and help the bees for free, not a cent or energy spent on our part and don’t require large land area.
Come on experts. Let the weeds grow even for a month. After May, mow the lawns to you hearts’ desire. Will you?
