GRASS ME UP BUTTERCUP

Let joy be unconfined. In line with the more natural gardening aesthetic of our times, leading garden designer Dan Pearson has advocated we all cut back on cutting the lawn. But don’t retire the mower just yet. At the Hay Festival this week, Pearson suggested we simply mow paths through our lawns to allow access to different parts of our gardens – this encourages wild flowers to push through the longer grass. He said a partially cut lawn looks more attractive than one that is just left to grow. “A path through a lawn, the juxtaposition of the two, is a very wonderful aesthetic. If you were just to leave the lawn to grow there’s a feeling of neglect, which you don’t get if you mow half or a sharp edge to it.” So now you know.

There are many exquisitely beautiful grasses and plants that can be grown instead of pampas