While Monty may have previously warned against lawn cutting, he confesses that this month is the best time to cut your grass as short as possible. If you haven’t already acted – Monty urges you to cut now – to reap future benefits. ‘All long grass can be cut and collected and subsequently kept mown short. This transforms meadows as well as being an essential part of encouraging wildflowers,’ Monty explains while sharing his expert garden ideas in his blog (opens in new tab). But what do you need to remember before cutting your grass – and what will it mean for your future garden? Here, Monty reveals what you need to know. ‘August is a good month to cut a flowering meadow as short as possible. The aim is to expose areas of bare soil so that fallen flower seeds can make contact and germinate,’ Monty explains. He notes that long grass areas with bulbs could remain untouched throughout the start of August ’to allow flowers to set seed and bulb foliage to die back.’ However, now, in the latter part of the month, you are safe to cut all areas of your garden. So, what equipment do you need for the job? Monty explains that you may need to hire a ‘powerful cutter or [use] a strimmer – although a scythe does the job as well as anything.’ Our curated selection of the best lawn mowers on the market might also be worth a look. After cutting, Monty recommends raking up the produce to put onto the compost heap and encourages you to thoroughly dampen it with a hose, unless it is a very small amount’. ‘It is important to remove all cut grass as otherwise, it feeds the soil as it decomposes, and this will encourage lush regrowth at the expense of the wildflowers and bulbs,’ Monty adds. ‘However, as long as the grass cuttings are collected, it may be kept mown short right up until winter.’ If you haven’t already taken up Monty’s advice, then this weekend is the perfect time to follow in his footsteps.
