Bad news homeowners. While freshly mown lawns may be nice to look at, they’re not so great for the environment. Short lawns are man-made and can hurt the natural ecosystem.
Mowing the lawn less often increases biodiversity, reduces pests, saves water and decreases overall costs, along with many other benefits.
To save your lawn – and yourself – the trouble, let the grass grow a little longer. Mow less often, raise the mower’s blade to three or four inches and leave clippings on the lawn for a healthier, more sustainable front yard.
Increase Biodiversity
Longer grass attracts wildflowers and other indigenous plants. Allowing these plants to grow rather than mowing over them helps the local ecosystem maintain its natural order. Animals will appreciate your efforts to return the plants with which they work best.
Meadow plants will grow stronger than annuals and perennials because they’re meant to grow in the conditions of your yard. Let your yard do the work for you!
Prevent Pests
By allowing wildflowers and native plants to grow, you also attract beneficial insects, such as ladybugs and lacewings, to your yard. These insects keep pest populations in check, saving you the trouble of a parasitic catastrophe.
Attract Pollinators
Many of the same plants that attract beneficial insects also bring in pollinators. Bees, butterflies and hummingbirds are essential to a healthy ecosystem and need the nectar-rich plants that can be found in a natural meadow.
Pollinators have been decreasing in numbers over the past few decades, mostly due to disease, lack of resources and harsh pesticides. Don’t make your lawn part of the problem.
Help the Birds
Bring more birds to your neighborhood by not cleaning up as often. Birds like to use the dried-up and dead parts of wildflowers to build nests. To attract even more birds, try planting sunflowers, cosmos or native grasses. Birds will appreciate the convenient food source, and your neighbors will love the pop of color in your yard.
Reduce Weed Growth
Weeds such as crabgrass need sunlight to warm their seeds and grow. Prevent sunlight from reaching weeds in the first place by mowing high and mowing less.
Save Water
Longer grass blades shade the soil and keep it cooler, preventing it from drying out quickly. When grass is grown long, it only needs supplemental water during dry spells.
Use Less Gas
Many models of lawn mowers run on gas, so the exhaust releases the same toxic gases and pollutants that cars do. By mowing less often, you can reduce air pollution. You can also switch to an ecofriendly battery-powered lawn mower.
Grow Healthier Grass
Mowing the lawn less can help grass grow greener and healthier. When grass is cut short, it has no choice but to use its food reserves to produce new blades. It takes its food reserves from its roots, reducing its food storage capacity. When lawn is allowed to grow higher, the grass has plenty of surfaces available to keep the plant healthy via sunlight.
The extra nutrition helps the grass build its food reserves and grow better roots, resulting in a healthier, greener lawn.
Information collected from Better Homes & Gardens and Spring-Green.
Sarah Grace Smith is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
