Another good reason to cut your grass regularly..

[Tetters]

We like to keep our gardens looking smart. Some of us have to have stripes on our lawns. Others of us like ''wild'' grassy areas where wild flowers thrive. How many of us I wonder think about the creatures that live ......and die in long grass because of our nifty modern machinery?
My patch is about four acres of grass. It needs to be kept neat because it is used by people who camp, and so I cut it with a ride on mower at least once a week - sometimes more. The bits around the edge are usually kept longer for the benefit of wildlife.
I bought a strimmer - for tidying up the long grass, and within seconds realised that I had carved up a small multitude of frogs! There were bloody remains of the animals all over the place. I was distraught.
This is another way we ''human'' creatures can cause untold damage to our garden friends. We need to think first

 

[roadrunner]

When I first was trying to determine what to do with my yard, I was looking into various kinds of grasses/ground covers. I ended up heavily mulching these areas, that way I did't have to do maintenance in keeping the grass/ground cover alive, just let nature take care of the area.

Since doing this I've come to the realization of just how damaging mowing is to creating habitat. Any piece of land that sits will soon be settled by something, but once that mowing happens all those "somethings" are instantly removed, if not killed. And in many cases their food/shelter are also removed during the mowing.

These areas that I use to mow are now flourishing with life, they small areas that I still mow are like deserts to the living. Nice big green lawns may look good, but to wildlife they are useless and deadly during mowings; not to mention other things we do to kill "weeds".

I'm not responding to the OP, I'm just passing on my observations.

 

[marlingardener]

We mow our front yard, barn lot, orchard area and back yard when needed (which with all the rain we've been having is almost weekly). We do this to keep mesquite trees, cacti, and thistles from moving in. It looks neat and tidy, and we have rabbits, birds, skunks, opossums, and the infrequent deer and fox moving through the flowerbeds and using the watering stations we have for the birds.

Our approximate five acres of pasture gets shredded twice a year, again to keep the invasive mesquite and cacti out. We have bobcats, coyotes, and the above mentioned animals, along with snakes in the pasture and around the pond.

We are of the opinion we live here, too, and I like my roses and vegetable gardens and native plants, and willingly share them with wildlife. In the almost 10 years we've lived here, we've noticed more wildlife and more species of birds each year (except the drought year when everything packed up and left). It's a balance, and we are close to having the ideal balance between human habitation and habits, and that of wildlife. However, I could do without the grasshoppers!

 

[Upsy Daisy]

We always do a walk around to check that we don't have any new visitors, but we don't have the size of land that Tetters has, so it's a lot easier to do so for us. But totally agree that mowing should be conducted with caution and respect for all precious wildlife.

 

[Beth_B]

Amen! I only have a half acre yard, and the large fenced area beside and behind the house gets mowed.... the presence of my three dogs deters ground-dwelling wildlife there, and the township would take me to court if I didn't mow. I have a little pond out back and get frogs there but they stay in and around the pond for safety. Toads are always under something during the day.

My side yard and around the edges, I pretty much leave alone and they get very lush in summer. I'm not rural enough for deer, but have seen plenty of smaller wildlife and I leave a brush and wood pile in the rear of the side yard for garter snakes and other things that need shelter.

The only thing I've knowingly killed was a ground nest of wasps near my front porch. The guy who was mowing for me got pretty badly stung when he went over them. So I eradicated that nest.

 

[Tetters]

Surprisingly, I've observed that frogs do in fact travel quite a long distance away from the pond. I find them in large numbers wherever the mower doesn't reach. They enjoy the shade and protection that is provided by the long grass. This is my reason for keeping up with the mowing on a regular basis - if I allow the grass to get too long I am unable to spot the creatures before the damage is done.
Strimmers also kill and maim many innocent little animals.

 

[Fernsdaddy]

I grow clover in my lawn so I don't have to mow it often, I make use there are no bees in the clove before I mow.

 

[Tetters]

I grow clover in my lawn so I don't have to mow it often, I make use there are no bees in the clove before I mow.

With bees having a hard time of in in recent years, you are doing a cracking job there. There are some good alternatives to grass, and different varieties of clover too.

 

[Tetters]

However, I could do without the grasshoppers!

It sounds as if you have grasshoppers in plague proportions there ? I hardly ever see one these days. They used to fascinate me when I was a child......but now - where have all our grasshoppers gone?

 

[Fernsdaddy]

With bees having a hard time of in in recent years, you are doing a cracking job there. There are some good alternatives to grass, and different varieties of clover too.

I like the White Dutch clover its seems to bloom more than any other kinds of clover, I like the way it smells when I cut it.

 

[marlingardener]

Tetters, the grasshoppers are bad one year, and then scarce the next. I look forward to the scarce years! I've had to pick them off wash on the line; they ate the bark off two new fruit trees and killed them; and the feral cats catch and eat so many that the cats get very rotund.
If you are missing 'hoppers, I will be able to send a ton or so to you next month if this is a "lots of 'hoppers" year!

 

[Tetters]

okey dokey then @marlingardener swop you a bucket full of hoppers for a bucket full of harlequin ladybirds......that keep flying over here from the near continent (or 'over the ditch' as we say)

 

[Upsy Daisy]

Too true Tetters, we have absolutely loads here as well

 

[Bootsy]

We try and keep a balance between making life easier in the garden, having an attractive garden (we open it for charity) and being a good home for wildlife. We even won a gold award for a wildlife friendly garden from one of the wildlife trusts.

We have quite a bit of neat lawn that gets mowed regularly but, during the summer, I need to mow early in the morning before the clover and daisies open. Otherwise they are covered in bees. I still have to occasionally stop mowing and move the bees out of the way

We have a vast array of bee and butterfly friendly plants and have over 20 species of birds coming to the garden every day. We do fence the garden to try and keep out rabbits and deer and spray the boundary with a non-toxic spray (used for cleaning the greenhouse) that deters badgers. We use no chemicals in the garden and have lots of wildflower areas. The photo in my avatar is of the wild bee orchids that flower in our garden. The bits that look like bees are actually the flower. They can't survive in an area that has chemicals used as they are symbiotic with microbes in the soil.

Some of our plants that attract the bees and butterflies

 

[Upsy Daisy]

Lovely pics Bootsy , your garden sounds fab.....well done