Wild About Gardens

Long Grass Lawn

Long Grass Lawn (c) RHS Julian Weigall

Wild About Gardens

The buzz of a bee, the sweet scent of honeysuckle, the splash of a frog hopping into a pond, the feeling of (real) grass under your feet, the chattering of birds in a hedge. These precious moments are not only a delight to experience in our gardens, they’re absolutely vital if we’re going to protect, restore and reconnect UK wildlife.

Wildlife-friendly gardening is about making a haven for you, as well as for wildlife. By gardening sympathetically for wildlife, you’ll be rewarded by a truly natural outdoor space, where you can get in touch with the plants, animals and birds that make their home there.

The Wildlife Trusts and the RHS set up the Wild About Gardens campaign to celebrate wildlife gardening and to encourage people to use their gardens to take action to help support nature. Over the past 50 years we've seen declines in two thirds of the UK’s plant and animal species, for a range of reasons, including loss of habitat.

Bring your lawn to life

This year, Wild About Gardens is calling on gardeners to reimagine their lawns - to raise the blade on their mower and cut their grass less regularly and learn to embrace daisies, dandelions, clovers and other naturally flowering plants.

Lawns left to grow long are shown to help mitigate flooding by better soaking up rainwater, can provide cooling spaces and capture pollutants within urban areas.  Due to longer roots they are also more resistant to drying out and browning in hot spells. This means that their benefits continue right through summer, and provide all-important habitat for a whole host of insects including beneficial insects, bees and butterflies.

    Top tips to love your lawn:

    • Reduce the frequency of mowing to once every three to four weeks to allow flowers such as dandelion and speedwell to bloom and help pollinators.
    • 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.
    • Allow parts of your lawn to grow long for the whole summer so that caterpillars can feed and transform into butterflies and moths.
    • Turn a blind eye to the odd bare patch within a lawn as these provide sites for ground nesting bees.
    • If you do want a luscious green carpet, consider growing hardy yarrow within your lawn or, where there is limited footfall, experiment with a tapestry lawn and grow herbs and flowers such as chamomile and creeping thyme.
    Wild about lawns 2023 image

    Get your very own free guide to bringing your lawn to life. The Wild About Gardens guide tells you all you need to know, from fascinating information about the eco-system beneath your feet, to practical activities to make the most of your space for you and your wild neighbours.

    Download the guide here

    Other Wild About Gardens booklets

    Previous Wild About Gardens guides can be downloaded or viewed  by clicking on the links below.

    High Fliers Bats Bees Beetles

    Butterflies Hedgehogs Ponds

    To get more ideas for helping wildlife and keep up to date with our Wild About Gardens campaigns, head to the Wild About Gardens website:

    Click here