The lawn in front of Annette Peterson’s Riverside bungalow is perhaps 2 inches taller than the standard emerald cut.
Look closely and you can see low-lying wildflowers – yellow, purple and lavender – hidden among the lush grasses.
Yet there is no indication that Peterson is participating in No Mow May, a national conservation initiative that encourages homeowners to help struggling pollinators, including bees, by ditching the lawnmower until June 1.
Four years after No Mow May arrived in the United States, with tall grass and lawns dotted with hundreds of dandelions, there are signs that the Chicago area is taking a more moderate approach.
At least five area cities and towns, including Westmont, La Grange Park and Riverside, hold No Mow ‘Til Mother’s Day, allowing lawns to grow and weeds to bloom such as dandelions and creeping Charlie. ‘flourish fully, but only until the middle -Can.
For advocates, it’s a win-win: Hungry bees gain access to important pollen and nectar early in the season, and neighbors benefit from tidier views.
“I think it’s the perfect happy medium for the Chicago suburbs,” said Peterson, a yoga instructor.
Other participating communities include Glenview and Lombard, which had more than 650 participating households in 2023. Northbrook runs a similar program, Slow Mow May, in which participants mow every two to three weeks.
Local officials said No Mow May, which began in England and was brought to the United States in Appleton, Wis., was modified to accommodate the fast-growing grasses of the Chicago area.
“I grew up in this neighborhood. I’m very knowledgeable about ecology and grass,” said Jon Yeater, supervisor of the Forests and Lands Division with the Westmont Public Works Department. “Even in an average year, I don’t think you can go the whole month of May (without mowing).”
No Mow May is a response to growing concerns about the decline of major insect populations, due to factors such as habitat loss, climate change and pesticide use.
An influential 2017 study in the journal PLOS ONE found a 75% decline in the number of flying insects (by weight) in German nature reserves over 27 years, and in 2021 the National Academies of Sciences produced a special issue on the decline of insects, with the authors writing an article entitled “Urgent action is needed in the name of nature”.
Among the endangered insects are many native North American bees, according to the Xerces Society, a nonprofit conservation organization focused on invertebrates, including insects.
The No Mow movement has sparked debate in recent years, with some critics arguing that adding native plants to your yard or completely replacing your lawn are more effective ways to support pollinators.
But supporters praise No Mow May for bringing attention to a difficult-to-publicize issue, with Yeater saying No Mow programs engage citizens and can lead to more ambitious home gardening practices.
“One of the things I like is that it’s eye-catching, and people are finally starting to recognize that they can do something different with their lawn and that it can be beneficial for the bees,” said Susannah Lerman, a research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service. and co-author of a frequently referenced 2018 study that found that mowing benefits bees less.
“From that point of view, I think (No Mow May) is really great,” she said. “People are talking about it. You see (lawn) signs everywhere.
Yet, she says, May only lasts a month.
“If we can get people to cut back on mowing their lawns in May – and June, July and August – then we’re talking about it. This will bring many more benefits to the bees,” she said.
His 2018 study found that mowing less frequently leads to more flowers and more bees. Lawns mowed every two weeks harbored the most bees (compared to lawns mowed every week or every three weeks). Among possible explanations for the higher number of bees in lawns mowed every two weeks: Taller grass in lawns mowed every three weeks may have prevented bees from accessing the flowers, according to the study.
At Northbrook, which started with a full-fledged no-mowing May in 2021 but moved to a slow-mowing May last year, sustainability coordinator Kate Carney said there was concern that Very tall grass can crowd out flowers or block insects that burrow underground in winter and emerge. in spring.
No Mow May programs – and their many variations – can help homeowners avoid fines, with cities often temporarily suspending enforcement of lawn height ordinances.
Still, many No Mow May enthusiasts participate in towns without official programs, taking their chances with tickets, mowing occasionally, or limiting their participation to backyards.
Kathleen Lojas, a retired special education teacher, said she mows her front yard in Brookfield, but lets the backyard “become meadow” in May.
She has red clover, Dutch clover, creeping Charlie, dandelions and violets.
“I saw a really big bumblebee the other day near my irises and I was so, so happy,” she said.
Peterson said she mowed her lawn once this spring at her husband’s suggestion, and she keeps the dandelions at bay, in part “so the neighbors will smile and wave happily.”
“I want to be responsive. I want to be a good neighbor,” she said. “But I also want to be a good environmental steward.”
Mother’s Day seems like a great deadline to not mow, in part because of the nature of the holiday.
“I’m hosting my mother and in-laws and you want the place to look nice. There’s this feeling of I don’t know… of propriety,” she said.
Lerman, the environmentalist researcher, said she had never heard of No Mow ‘Til Mother’s Day before, but liked the idea: “What that tells me is that people are taking this idea of No Mow May and they make it work where they are at.
On a sunny day in early May, Peterson gave a tour of her quarter-acre property, where she lives with her husband and their two children in a 1926 brick bungalow.
The front yard featured traditional purple irises, wild strawberries, a flower box and bird feeder. Large carpenter bees – yellow and fluffy on top, and sleek and black below – hovered near the house.
The side lot and backyard, which were hidden from the street, won’t be mowed until June, Peterson said. There the look was wilder, with many trees and a stream-like trench that wound its way through the violets and false strawberries, toward a small temporary pond. Blackbirds and cardinals sang as Peterson knelt to inspect a single purple violet.
With all the shade, the grass wasn’t very tall yet, she apologized. But the overall effect remained that of a wooded refuge.
Deer and ducks have passed through here, Peterson said, and two weeks ago she saw a coyote.
“The construction sites are not just for us, and we are aware of that,” she said. “This is the important change we are seeing. We recognize this and make room for all residents.”
nschoenberg@chicagotribune.com
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