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While No Mow May has become increasingly popular with many British gardeners, many wildlife experts are now pushing for a March Start because this is the critical window when our early pollinators are at their most vulnerable. So, is delaying the first cut in March a gift to British wildlife?

Often, the first weekend in March, when the sun is a little warmer, and the air smells like damp earth once again, you hear the distant drone of a neighbour’s lawnmower. It’s at this point that it’s tempting to follow suit. After a long, grey winter, a neat, striped lawn feels like a fresh start. But before you wheel the mower out of the shed, it’s worth remembering that March is often thought to be one of the most important months for British biodiversity. While the lawn might look shaggy to us, to a queen bumblebee or a hungry butterfly, it’s a vital habitat.

By early March, queen bumblebees are waking up from hibernation. They are often hungry and exhausted, with one mission: to find enough nectar to start a new colony. In a pristine, mown garden, there is nothing for them to eat. By not mowing, you allow early wildflowers to bloom. Flowers like Dandelions, which are often treated as the enemy, actually contain nearly 100 individual flowers. Lesser Celandine, too, are one of the first sources of nectar available. So too are daisies and speedwell, which can provide essential food sources for solitary bees.

However, March in Britain is famously fickle. We can have a 15°C afternoon followed by a -3°C night. Shorter grass offers no protection, but a slightly longer grass can create a sheltered micro-climate. This protects ground-dwelling insects, froglets, and even the soil itself from the freeze-thaw cycle, which can kill early larvae.

The idea of holding off with the first cut of the year is centred around the habitat for wild flowers and even weeds, but, as well all know, it isn’t just these plants that benefit. Flowers attract insects, and insects attract birds. It’s an ecosystem in which each plays its part.

And if you’re worried about the neighbours raising an eyebrow at your scruffy garden, try putting up some of the signs often seen around many suburban areas telling anyone passing that you are “giving power to the flowers”, as highlighted by PlantLife’s No Mow campaign. Or try a single neat path through the middle, or a crisp border around the edge, which shows that the long grass is a choice, not an accident. It is managed wildness.

The UK has lost 97% of its flower-rich meadows since the 1930s, and our gardens now make up a combined area larger than all of Britain’s national nature reserves. That means they are now the front line of conservation. So, would you be willing to support biodiversity by holding off on your first mow until April? If not, maybe leave just one “wild patch” to see what grows.

Having outlined some of the benefits of delaying lawn mowing, UK charity PlantLife points out that mowing a couple of times before April can also benefit the lawn. They say that cutting the grass can help to encourage some wildflowers to grow. As with everything, there are pros and cons, but as a concept, there are several good reasons to be less tidy in the garden. And with the UK’s and global wildlife under such immense threat, it falls to us all to do what we can.

So this year, it might be worth thinking before you head out to cut the lawn for the first time in 2026.