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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Isaaq Tomkins

From neat lawns to wild havens: how No Mow May is transforming England’s gardens

Gill Friswell in her back garden.
‘It’s a nice aesthetic,’ Gill Friswell says of her garden’s wilder appearance. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Ian Waddington was crouched in his garden last summer, inspecting loose paving, when he lifted a slab and spotted something extraordinary: a tiny field mouse nestled in a hollow, feeding four babies – each half the size of his little finger. “It was astonishing. Like life in miniature,” he says.

After decades in the construction industry, the 86-year-old has found a new passion in retirement – nature. The discovery of the field mice made him realise his garden could be a thriving habitat for animal and plant life. This year, Waddington joined the No Mow May movement and allowed his garden grow wild through spring.

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