Wild flowers

[Tigger1895]

I live in an an estate. Everyone keeps their lawn and garden impeccably. Recently people have started wild flower gardens outside their property on the grass pathway. To me it looks unkept and unsightly.
I feel if you want bees to feed why not encourage them into your own garden instead of making the pathway look like you can’t be bothered mowing that piece of grass. AIBU

Our*

My hay fever is worse this year because of all the extra grass and wildflowers but I don’t mind as it’s so lovely and better for the environment. The outdoors has become too sterile.

@Onairjunkie

You are being so, so unreasonable OP.

I have a farm and I’ve rewilded a six-acre paddock. With the tractor I have just cut a narrow strip/path through it so I can get through, but beyond that I’ve let it go. It is absolutely magical. It is full of deer, birds of every kind from tiny garden birds to birds of prey, rabbits and field mice. But they very best thing is the hum like a Lancaster bomber of the millions of bees flying from each of the beautiful wildflowers. How can that be a bad thing? I walk through it every day.

This sounds wonderful, thank you.

@onairjunkie that sounds amazing! What a wonderful thing to do. We only have a very dinky garden that the previous people had unfortunately decked and astroturfed to within an inch of its life 😕. Next year's job is to remove the fake grass and decking and get as much wildlife in there as possible. For now I make do with as many pots and hanging baskets as I can fit, big troughs of lavender, hydrengas, etc and some massive pink bush, which I'm unsure what it is, but the bees absolutely LOVE it! My little girls love finding "tired" bees, and helping them on their way with some sugar water... Makes my heart happy helping give nature a chance, in this harsh world.

On all the grass areas near me that the council usually mow they have introduced rewilding and so just like Onair they have mown a pathway through for the dog walkers and school children heading to school as they never follow the actual paths. It looks lovely.

I hate all this manicured lawn crap. It is very 1970s.

You are presumably a human. This means that you are dependant on having the correct ecosystem for the earth to remain inhabitable for yourself. Plants and insects are part of that ecosystem, if there aren’t enough of them you or your descendants will literally die.

Aside from that, only a monster doesn’t like wildflowers. I bet you hate kittens too.

We’ve moved to a new house. DH is being given the front garden to tidy (and a raised bed in the back)
Other than that I’m keeping it as wild as I can. We have a bumblebee nest in the loft and it makes me happy seeing them buzz around my garden.

Perhaps they should lay the verges with artificial grass. That would look much neater.

I wanted to do a wildflower lawn in my front garden, dh wanted something a bit more pretentious so we’ve settled on bee friendly perennials and it’s full of flowers and bees —and weeds— 🐝 now.

Strike through fail…

Having a totally rewilded area with a path mowed through, sounds like such a good idea. Wonder if I could do that in my teeny garden.🤔

Our local council has run out of money, so they've cut their mowing schedule. It means that all the grass verges and grassed areas (of which there are a lot; we're in an outer London borough) have grown super long and we're getting more wild flowers in them. It makes me so happy, I actually think they should replace this as their actual mowing plan.

@SD1978

So they don't want to turn their gardens, that they use, wildflower friendly- but the will lob a few seeds on the footpath and reckon they're helping save the planet. Would piss me off too to be honest. Half arsing a bit of grass out the front because you basically can't be arsed, but making sure they stay out your nicely mowed garden is hypocritical- do both or neither.

Why? Sounds like a really good compromise to me, especially if everyone in the street does it.

@Soubriquet I made a wildflower area around my pond. I had to order infertile soil (basically sandy soil) and its more of a jungle then a meadow atm and lots of the seeds have escaped on to the verge the other side of the wall. I think the seeds came from Meadowland and you really don't need much, I sewed them far too close together and have most of a 500g bag left.

My front is currently in the “looking fucking terrible” stage of wild flowers (hopefully) appearing.

Op your nuts, it’s not about taste, it’s about making sure we don’t die. Please please re-educate yourself on the crisis we are in with insects.
You can tell how much insects have declined, think back to car journeys as a kid. Your car was covered in them squashed. Now, barely any.
That’s all you need to see to know it’s true.

For those mowing after no mow may please walk through the grass before mowing it to make sure the wee beasties move before the blades get them.

My garden is 50% wildflowers now, with paths mown in it. It looks lovely. Clover is great for bees too and they love it, so thats an easy way to make gardens more wildlife friendly. Also, replacing grass with flowering thyme or camomile is really beneficial. I'm going to sow creeping thyme between patio stones next year. It also smells lovely on hot days and when you walk on it. Fruit trees are very good for bugs and bees too in the spring! There are so many ways we can help wildlife, no matter how small the garden or balcony we have.

@Tigger1895

I live in an an estate. Everyone keeps their lawn and garden impeccably. Recently people have started wild flower gardens outside their property on the grass pathway. To me it looks unkept and unsightly. I feel if you want bees to feed why not encourage them into your own garden instead of making the pathway look like you can’t be bothered mowing that piece of grass. AIBU

I think the problem is with op, not them.

[quote HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime]@Soubriquet I made a wildflower area around my pond. I had to order infertile soil (basically sandy soil) and its more of a jungle then a meadow atm and lots of the seeds have escaped on to the verge the other side of the wall. I think the seeds came from Meadowland and you really don't need much, I sewed them far too close together and have most of a 500g bag left.[/quote]
Ah that’s beautiful

You do realise that no bees = the human race dying out, don't you?

They are the most important pollinator of crops in the entire world and without them, there would be no food. We destroy their habitat by building new housing estates and covering the earth with concrete and tarmac, so the least we can do is give something back.

@BarbarianMum

Re-educate your taste OP. The 60s and 70s are long gone.

To be fair, in the 60s and 70s, there were wild flower meadows everywhere. My childhood was spent playing in fields of cowslips and primroses. It was less problematic if you kept a neat garden.

The wild flower gardens will win every time because so naturally beautiful and cottage cottage cottage cottage cottage c

Haha pressed post to soon,I don't like those perfectly manicured lawns they so uninteresting

Lovely idea. We need more colour

That's true @TheRosesOfSuccess but they were also the era of DDT and the quest away from nature toward the "perfect" garden. The hours my parents spent on killing things living in their lawn were astounding.

I love all the wild flowers. My DS loves bees and other insects so we plant to encourage that interest and help the bees out.

I will be attempting wild flowers as well.

I need to know more about winter plants