Learning to love daisies

Daisies in lawn
Bath

I never thought I’d be that bothered about having a manicured lawn, but I’ve realised that I like a healthy sward and a crisp edge as much as the next person. I love it when my lawn (which is actually more of a long, wide grass path) has been recently cut and edged, and I find myself feeling frustrated when daisies spoil the look, seemingly within minutes of mowing.

This spring, however, I haven’t mowed much. There are lots of ashy mining bees (Andrena cineraria) that cruise just above the grass and pause to sup on the daisies – and they don’t budge when a mower comes along. They gather nectar from the daisies (and the blossom of fruit trees) and I don’t want to deprive them, or chew them up in the mower.

As a result, the lawn has grown quite long. I’ve realised that once it’s got past a certain length, the daisies cease to irk me – the effect is more that of a wildflower meadow. The bees will be gone by the beginning of June, and I’ll be quite reluctant to start mowing again. I’m going to leave an area under the apple tree unmowed to keep the meadow effect going. I did it last year, and it’s fascinating to see what appears there.

The whole garden is teetering on the edge of chaos at the moment – everything is growing so fast that weeds and self-seeders are appearing daily. I planted some hedgerow plug plants under the edible hedge last autumn, and I can’t tell what’s a wildflower and what’s a weed – if there’s even a difference. I’ll have to intervene at some point, but at the moment I’m just enjoying watching everything grow.

2 thoughts on “Learning to love daisies”

  1. I know exactly what you mean about the edge of chaos. It’s exceedingly difficult not to spend every waking moment outdoors, especially when the sun is shining. I love daisies and would not mow the lawn if it was up to me. David, however, is of the manicured lawn persuasion. Sigh.

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