Last mowing

I took advantage of the more or less fine weather today to get our 'long meadow' mown for the last time today. This is the area of lawn allowed to grow long through the spring and summer, in which bulbs and perennials are encouraged to do their own thing - as opposed to the short meadow, the other half of the lawn, planted with crocuses and cowslips only for an early show, but then returned to short turf for summer lounging.

The long meadow gives as much pleasure as any other part of the garden, changing through the season as the first snowdrops and crocuses give way to daffodils, fritillaries and cowslips: the bulb foliage disappears as the grass grows up and the larger perennials take over the show amid masses of yellow rattle, culminating in the display of Iris latifolia in late June, but flowers continue into August, making it hard to decide when to mow. The area is mown a couple of times in mid-August and then left for the colchicums and autumn crocuses to come up and flower. Once they are finished it is safe to give one final cut to remove the autumn's regrowth, leaving the turf short for the early bulbs to emerge through. It's a simple enough regime for so much colour, interest, and pleasure.

Late June in the 'long meadow': Leucanthemum vulgare and Malva moschata