‘No Mow May’ Is A Movement, But Will It Catch On In Tyler, Texas?

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The 'No Mow May' trend is catching on and could soon be sweeping across the nation.

I really enjoy springtime and summertime here in East Texas, but the one thing I don't particularly care for is when it comes time to mow the yard. I have such a big yard that it takes me nearly two hours to complete my yardwork, so this 'No Mow May' sounds enticing to me.

What is 'No Mow May' all about?

Basically, it boils down to letting your yard and some weeds and wildflowers, like dandelions, grow uninterrupted and let them do their thing so that bees can do their thing, pollenate. The goal is to create a habitat and forage for early-season pollinators, especially in areas where floral resources are often scarce.

Adopted from the U.K, the Bee City USA organization is behind this movement and is encouraging citizens to work with their local city council and planning and zoning commissions to adopt and grow 'No Mow May' into a national movement. Through previous studies, the organization has found that participating yards had a three-time higher concentration of bees than yards that had been mowed.

Will neighbors buy into this or just consider you lazy?

Many will probably consider you just lazy without even educating themselves on what you are doing. We all know how quickly our grass grows here in East Texas, especially after a few heavy downpours from spring thunderstorms. If you participate and let it go through the month of May, your grass could be 12 - 18' high! However, you could maintain a mowed buffer between your property and your neighbors and along the sidewalks and streets.

This could possibly catch on in Tyler in the coming years because Tyler is one of ten cities in Texas that is a Bee City USA affiliate city. There are currently 296 Bee City USA affiliates across 45 states.

As much as I like the idea of not mowing my yard for a month, I would dread mowing it for the first time in June after it had not been mowed and maintained for a month. So, for now, I'll continue being a responsible neighbor and mowing my lawn, but I will leave the greenbelt behind and between my and my neighbors' house alone and let it grow up a bit.