No Mow May started as advice for garden lawns. On a managed amenity site, whether a park, a road verge, a housing estate boundary or a sports ground edge, the same principle can apply, but you need to plan it rather than just stop mowing. You have sightline duties, safety obligations and a public who may assume long grass means the contractor did not show up.

The approach that works is zoned mowing: keep the maintained areas on their normal programme, and designate specific patches where mowing is relaxed or suspended through May. Even a small percentage of the site left unmown through May can increase the spring nectar available to bees and hoverflies meaningfully, at the point when colonies are building and forage is genuinely scarce.

Deciding where mowing can and cannot be relaxed

Map the constraints before you change anything. On road-fronting land, you need to maintain visibility splays at junctions and site exits. These are the clear sightlines that allow drivers and pedestrians to see each other, and grass growing into them creates both a safety hazard and a legal liability. The specific minimum distances are set by local authority highway standards or the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges. If you are unsure whether an area sits within a splay, measure from the kerb line and check with the council’s highway team.

Beyond sightlines, keep the normal programme on footpath edges, play zones, steep slopes where mowing safety is a factor, and any surface where drainage or wear is affected by grass height. That still leaves plenty of candidates: back sections of verges, park corners away from main paths, buffer strips along boundaries, and areas under trees where close-cut grass rarely thrives anyway.

Marking and communicating the zones

Before May starts, mark the zone boundaries. A crisp mown edge around the unmown section is usually enough to signal that the change is deliberate. A short interpretation sign helps considerably. Something like “we are leaving this area for bees and pollinators through May” shifts the public reaction from “neglected” to “intentional”. Most complaints about long grass come from the assumption that nobody knows about it.

If your site has a grounds maintenance contract, make sure the relaxed-mowing zones are clearly mapped in writing. Verbal agreements get forgotten when the crew changes.

What to expect in the first year

If the area has been cut regularly to 25-50mm, clover, dandelions and lesser trefoil will often appear within a fortnight of relaxed mowing without any seeding. These are reliable food plants for bumblebees in spring. Areas kept very short for a long time may produce little in year one. If that is the case, autumn overseeding with a suitable native wildflower mix ahead of the following May is worth planning.

Cutting and clearing after May

Give the zones a single cut in late May or early June, once the main flush of flowers has gone over. If the growth is substantial, cut high on the first pass. Remove the cuttings rather than leaving them to break down. The cut material contains nutrients that favour coarse grasses over wildflowers, and collecting it makes a meaningful difference to zone quality over subsequent years.

Recording what comes up

Photograph the zones before and after, and note what is flowering. You do not need to be a botanist. A photograph and a rough species count is enough. If you are working to a site biodiversity plan or contributing to biodiversity net gain (BNG) reporting, these observations are useful evidence. Sites that record year-on-year improvement in species diversity have a stronger basis for ecological reporting, and for justifying the programme to stakeholders the following spring.

Did you know? Bumblebee queens emerge from hibernation as early as February needing nectar to fuel the start of a new colony. A single unmown verge or park corner in flower through May can provide critical foraging when garden plants are still sparse.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need permission from the local authority before leaving verges unmown in May?

If you manage land under a grounds maintenance contract or highway agreement, check the contract terms and speak to the relevant authority first. Many councils now actively support No Mow May on verges and have guidance in place. Privately managed amenity land generally does not require permission, but check your lease or site management plan for any mowing obligations.

Will long grass on an amenity site look neglected?

A crisp mown edge around the unmown zone signals it is deliberate rather than missed. A short interpretation sign reduces complaints considerably. Sites that explain the reason for long grass typically receive positive feedback rather than objections.

What should I do with the cuttings after No Mow May?

Remove them from site rather than leaving them to break down. Cut material is nutrient-rich and will encourage coarse grasses at the expense of wildflowers over time. Collect and compost or dispose of cuttings off-site after the late May or early June cut.

Does No Mow May create problems with injurious weeds?

Relaxed mowing allows some plants to set seed. Under the Weeds Act 1959, land managers are legally required to prevent the spread of injurious weeds including ragwort, spear thistle, broad-leaved dock, curled dock and creeping thistle. Map any problem plants before designating relaxed zones and spot-treat them if they appear during May.

Can relaxed mowing zones work on sports grounds?

Not on playing surfaces or outfields in active use. The most suitable areas on sports sites are rough margins, entrance banks and buffer strips that are not needed for play or spectator access.