No Mow May
Power to the flowers
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This May, we’re putting down the lawnmowers and giving power to the flowers as we support Plantlife’s No Mow May campaign across our four Gardens. You can join in too — simply by letting wildflowers bloom freely in your garden.
By mowing less, you create space for nature to thrive and provide a vital lifeline for wildlife. With around 97% of flower-rich meadows lost since the 1930s, our gardens and green spaces are now crucial for pollinators like bees and butterflies, as well as birds, moths, and small mammals.
Allowing grass to grow — and leaving a variety of lengths — helps restore lost habitats. Mowing less frequently, and collecting the cuttings when you do, encourages deep-rooting wildflowers to take hold. These not only support biodiversity but also store more carbon in the soil, helping reduce your carbon footprint while saving time and effort.
No Mow May is one of the easiest ways to help and connect with wildlife, and the perfect way to start supporting nature in your garden (in May and beyond!).
What we’re doing
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Each of our four Gardens is taking part in No Mow May in its own unique way, showing how small changes — like putting the lawnmower away — can help nature thrive.
Dawyck Botanic Garden
At Dawyck Garden, around two-thirds of its 65 acres are left uncut all season, with only a late autumn cut, highlighting our strong focus on grassland biodiversity. For No Mow May, we’re going further — refraining from cutting high-profile lawn areas near the Visitor Centre and main garden paths. Look out for signs explaining why you’re seeing longer grass and more buzzing bees!
Logan Botanic Garden
Down in Dumfries and Galloway, we’re leaving large areas filled with naturalised spring bulbs untouched this May. As Curator Richard Baines says:
“Not mowing your grass for one month can significantly increase bee populations, which are essential for pollinating our plants and crops.”
It’s a simple change with a big ecological impact.
Benmore Botanic Garden
At Benmore near Dunoon, our Silent Space and areas within the Golden Gates Arboretum are going untouched. With over 120 acres of mountainside garden, we’re already a haven for birds, insects, and even red squirrels — but No Mow May gives these species even more room to thrive.
Join the No Mow Movement
