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Old 11-05-2005, 12:55 PM
Mike Lyle
 
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MM wrote:
On Mon, 09 May 2005 21:10:02 +0100, MM

wrote:

My new lawn is really coming on now. Much of the grass is 2" high,
though patchy. When I do the first cut (I have a Qualcast Panther
hand cylinder mower), should I leave the trimmings on the surface

to
mulch down or collect them?


Looking this morning, in the warm sunshine (at last!) at my virgin
forest of tall pines (my blades of grass), I see a whole new

ecology
starting to thrive. To a very small insect, these 2" shoots must

seem
like sequoias that have suddenly appeared out of nowhere. All the
while the surface was a barren wasteland that would give the moon a
run for his money, no activity was apparent. But now, if you take

the
time to squat down and look carefully, you begin to notice the

rushing
hither and thither of countless small beasties. I watched one dash
along a meandering, self-made cross-country field path, as it

rushed
around one blade of grass, right, then left, then left, then right,
making it up as it went. This is more fun than a Hornby train set!
Will he go right at the junction, or left? Which way are the points
inside that little creature set? It emerged on to the patio, but
hurriedly scurried back into the undergrowth. Its carapace was the
jettest black, the shiniest imaginable, a Beetle in miniature,

fresh
from the production line. Elsewhere, flies of various kinds flit

just
above the greensward. When I'm not in the garden, birds have

started
to arrive in one's and two's. The whole house has taken on a new
significance as the soil finally gives in and accepts its presence.

How can I possibly cut this wonderful growth already?


Yes, I understand: it's glorious. But if you don't cut it now, you'll
be sorry. Why not select a patch to leave alone? In quite a few
gardens it can be done without looking too scruffy: making some kind
of visible edge, and naturalising some bulbs and other flowers in
there will help make it look intentional, though grass will always
tend to out-compete them. Putting some obviously ornamental grasses
in should help, too; but I never tried that. I used to cut my
wild-flower lawn at about the end of July when the flowers had mostly
seeded. (This approach will infect your formal lawn with weeds, of
course: swings and roundabouts.)

--
Mike.