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Make yours a dandelion spring!

Alison Steadman backs campaign to grow longer lawns

Spring has sprung and the abundance of dandelions has prompted The Wildlife Trusts and Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to renew their call for longer lawns. The new campaign, Wild About Lawns, encourages gardeners to champion dandelions and other wildflowers by letting lawns grow longer.

There are an 239 dandelion microspecies recorded in Britain & Ireland and 58 of those are endemic which means that they are only found in the British Isles. Dandelions are central to garden ecosystems, supporting more than fifty different species of insects including bees, moths, flies and wasps. Some of those insects are pollinators and are eaten by birds, so they all play a vital role in the food chains that wildlife relies on. 

Every dandelion 'flower' is made up of lots of little individual florets, each with its own supply of nectar and pollen. After the flowers have bloomed, fluffy seedheads known as ‘dandelion clocks’ form and the seeds are dispersed by the wind. Dandelion seeds also provide food for birds such as sparrows and goldfinches. Beyond lawns, these resilient perennials have been spotted across the UK growing in walls, sand dunes, cliff faces, verges, drain covers, at the foot of traffic lights and even on windowsills.

Alison Steadman Sunflowers

Alison Steadman, actress and ambassador for The Wildlife Trusts, is backing Wild About Lawns. She says:

“I absolutely love relaxing in my garden listening to birdsong. Longer lawns offer birds the perfect foraging spots especially when there are plenty of wildflowers in amongst the grass. One of my favourite animals is the hedgehog and what better way to make them feel welcome than a luscious patch of grass and wildflowers to hunt for worms and beetles? I do hope you'll join me in freeing your lawn and letting golden dandelions flourish this year for a splash of colour!”

By avoiding frequent mowing, dandelions and other wildflowers such as daisies, selfheal, lesser celandine, cowslip, and bird’s-foot-trefoil have a chance to grow and flower, providing nectar and pollen for pollinators. Those without a lawn can still take part by creating mini lawns in containers and pots.

 

For more information on the benefits of longer lawns in gardens, download a free copy of the Bring your lawn to life guide. The public can find out more about the campaign at wildaboutgardens.org.uk

Editor’s notes

Five ways to love your lawn this year:

  • Reduce the frequency of mowing to once every three to four weeks to allow moths and butterfly caterpillars such as large skippers and meadow browns to feed on grasses.
  • Keep some areas short as pathways, sunbathing spots, and foraging areas for worm-eating birds. For the rest, let the grass grow a little longer, offering shelter to grasshoppers and other insects. In turn, these creatures are food for frogs, birds, and bats.
  • Birds such as blackbirds, robins and tawny owls feed on earthworms so increase your chances of seeing these birds by allowing a longer lawn to grow.
  • Overlook bare patches within a lawn as these provide valuable habitats for mining bees. Around ¾ of all wild bee species nest in the soil. Solitary bees that nest in the ground include ivy bees and ashy mining bees.
  • If you prefer a greener lawn, consider growing hardy yarrow or, where there is limited footfall, experiment with a tapestry lawn and grow herbs and flowers such as chamomile and creeping thyme.

 

Wild About Gardens

Every year the RHS and The Wildlife Trusts lead a new campaign to inspire people to garden for wildlife. See www.wildaboutgardens.org.uk/

 

The Wildlife Trusts

The Wildlife Trusts are making the world wilder and helping to ensure that nature is part of everyone’s lives. We are a grassroots movement of 46 charities with more than 900,000 members and 38,000 volunteers. No matter where you are in Britain, there is a Wildlife Trust inspiring people and saving, protecting and standing up for the natural world. With the support of our members, we care for and restore special places for nature on land and run marine conservation projects and collect vital data on the state of our seas. Every Wildlife Trust works within its local community to inspire people to create a wilder future – from advising thousands of landowners on how to manage their land to benefit wildlife, to connecting hundreds of thousands of school children with nature every year. www.wildlifetrusts.org

 

About the RHS

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) was founded in 1804 and is the UK’s largest gardening charity.

The RHS vision is to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place via its inspirational gardens and shows, science research and advisory, extensive library collections and far-reaching education and community programmes. With over 600,000 members the RHS also shares its horticultural knowledge and expertise with millions of people every year through its website and publications.

In 2021, the RHS launched its Sustainability Strategy, committing to be net positive for nature and people by 2030. The supporting RHS Planet-Friendly Gardening Campaign will continue to harness the power of the UK’s 30 million gardeners to help tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis.

We are solely funded by our members, visitors and supporters. For more information visit www.rhs.org.uk RHS Registered Charity No. 222879/SC038262

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