Love the move of your estate managers and your call to the same action, Thomas. It breaks my heart when I see people mow and ‚clean‘ their ‚gardens’. They always seem to do it in the complete wrong time of the year. I guess it is especially important to call for a No Mow Spring in England where grass and lawns seem to be woven into society, or aren‘t they? In German these lawns, which are of course also very common in the rest of Europe, and the world as a matter of fact, are called ‚Englischer Rasen‘, which means ‚English lawn‘. That is how far they have come, unfortunately. Let‘s hope your call to action resonates with many. Here is to No Mow May. And maybe it can even be embellished with some seed balls 🙃🌸🐝.
Just found you Thomas. On the cusp of July and have not mowed my front "lawn". Lots of red clover, white clover, daisy fleabane, Queen Anne's Lace, several cinquefoils. milkweed, evening primrose and a few seeded in perennials. My neighbor who is a gardener approves. Management has not complained. It is work, still weeding out clumps of grass and removing grass seedheads. Have cut down asters and goldenrods so they bloom at a lower height. But I took great joy at watching a swallowtail feeding from one clover and moving an inch to the next and the next. Am outside a small town in New England, US.
Permanent pasture as a proportion of total farmed area - 34%
Which would make the proportion of England that is farmed: 8,999,000 / 13,046,000 = 69.0%
Which would make the proportion of England that is permanent pasture: 34 * 0.69 = 23.5%
Which would make the minimum estimate of land used to grow grass for feeding animals 4.8 times the maximum estimate of land used to grow grass for residential gardens.
Love the move of your estate managers and your call to the same action, Thomas. It breaks my heart when I see people mow and ‚clean‘ their ‚gardens’. They always seem to do it in the complete wrong time of the year. I guess it is especially important to call for a No Mow Spring in England where grass and lawns seem to be woven into society, or aren‘t they? In German these lawns, which are of course also very common in the rest of Europe, and the world as a matter of fact, are called ‚Englischer Rasen‘, which means ‚English lawn‘. That is how far they have come, unfortunately. Let‘s hope your call to action resonates with many. Here is to No Mow May. And maybe it can even be embellished with some seed balls 🙃🌸🐝.
Completely agree with you! It requires a total change in mindset, a redefining of what is ‘normal’. Thanks for reading and I’m glad it resonated
Just found you Thomas. On the cusp of July and have not mowed my front "lawn". Lots of red clover, white clover, daisy fleabane, Queen Anne's Lace, several cinquefoils. milkweed, evening primrose and a few seeded in perennials. My neighbor who is a gardener approves. Management has not complained. It is work, still weeding out clumps of grass and removing grass seedheads. Have cut down asters and goldenrods so they bloom at a lower height. But I took great joy at watching a swallowtail feeding from one clover and moving an inch to the next and the next. Am outside a small town in New England, US.
Sounds absolutely wonderful, i wish I was your neighbour! Thanks for taking the time to read and share.
My meadow has become a passion with me
I may as well share this given that I just looked up the numbers:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/land-use-in-england-2022/land-use-statistics-england-2022
Total area of England - 13,046,000 hectares
Proportion of England used for residential gardens - 4.9%
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/agricultural-facts-england-regional-profiles/agricultural-facts-summary
Total farmed area of England - 8,999,000 hectares
Permanent pasture as a proportion of total farmed area - 34%
Which would make the proportion of England that is farmed: 8,999,000 / 13,046,000 = 69.0%
Which would make the proportion of England that is permanent pasture: 34 * 0.69 = 23.5%
Which would make the minimum estimate of land used to grow grass for feeding animals 4.8 times the maximum estimate of land used to grow grass for residential gardens.
What’s your point?
No point. I saw a lot more pasture than gardens on my walk so was curious about the numbers.