How Does Your Garden Grow?
By Georgie Hughes (WAI Volunteer).
The picture-perfect lawn has long been upheld in our culture as the ultimate garden goal. First popularised in the 17th and 18th centuries, European aristocrats showcased their wealth by planting green turf on agricultural land to send the message that they had land they could afford to waste. But could the tide finally be turning as the environmental benefits of meadows come to light?
Letting your lawn grow wild may seem ‘untidy’, but research shows it’s beneficial to local biodiversity, helps to lower carbon emissions and improves water quality. Plus it’s cheaper and easier to maintain.
LESS WASTE
Achieving a perfect lawn takes effort: regular mowing, sometimes fertiliser and water – lots of it. This can put a lot of pressure on our water supplies, especially in summertime when there is a risk of drought. We’ve all probably seen the images of golf courses and gardens glowing green while surrounded by arid landscapes.
The Queenstown Lakes District already has one of the highest levels of water usage in the country, according to the council, with households using an average of 440 litres per day. The national average is 282.8. With it being such a dry region much of this water goes towards maintaining lawns which can put water networks under strain.
A 2022 BRANZ study found that 22% of the average Kiwi household’s water usage went towards outdoor irrigation during the summer.
Meadows, however, are low maintenance and don’t require much water to survive, needing just 20 to 25 inches annually. Conserving this water could help to maintain local water levels and prevent restrictions in the summer.
CLIMATE RESILIENT
Meadows are also beneficial in wetter and colder months, as they can absorb stormwater and prevent flooding. This is due to them being composed of looser soil and an extensive root system, which allows them to absorb more water than lawns. Consequently, this helps to recharge groundwater supplies and to support stream flow in drier seasons.
You don’t need good soil or fertiliser to help meadows grow, since they are hardy and able to withstand climate change. On the other hand, people are advised to fertilise their lawns every two weeks to encourage grass growth and to prevent weeds. But this can be harmful, as lawns are more susceptible to runoff, leading fertiliser to filter into and pollute our waterways. Runoff can cause toxic algal blooms, which harm aquatic life and affect water quality.
BIODIVERSITY
Letting our gardens run wild is also hugely important for biodiversity, since they can provide food for pollinators and birds and support the local food chain.
Cambridge University grew a meadow on its Back Lawn for the first since 1772 in 2019, allowing researchers to study how this could benefit the natural environment over the next three years. They found that despite its small size of 0.36 hectares, the meadow supported three times more plant, spider and bug species and bats were recorded three times more often over the meadow.
The reduced maintenance and fertilising involved with growing a meadow also meant that annual emissions were reduced by an estimated 1.36 Mg CO2-e per hectare per year compared to the lawn.
GARDENING TIPS
It can be a little intimidating to know where to begin with growing a meadow if you haven’t done it before, but rest assured it is relatively easy as they require so little maintenance. The main thing to know is that you should stick to native species which are already adapted to the local climate and weather conditions. You can use this handy guide to find out exactly what plants are native to your area here.
Don’t forget to include grasses in your planting, as these really give the look and feel of a meadow and last throughout the year, unlike wildflowers which bloom for a season. Choosing a large variety of flowering species can also ensure that there is always at least one or two that are blooming at all times.
If you’re still on the fence about having a meadow, you could just experiment with planting wildflowers in one small section of your garden to see how it goes. Another option is to join in with No Mow May (or for the Southern Hemisphere ‘No Mow November’), a celebration created by UK charity Plantlife. People are encouraged to leave their gardens to grow naturally for the whole month, allowing wildflowers and ‘weeds’ to come through.
Whatever you decide to do, you can’t go wrong with giving it a go. The birds, bees and butterflies will thank you.
This blog was written by WAI volunteer Georgie Hughes as part of WAI’s Adopt a Drain programme.