No Mow May: Wildflowers and wildlife encouraged to flourish at Oxburgh Hall

The grounds at a stately home in Norfolk will be allowed to grow wild throughout May to encourage bees and other insects to flourish.

Oxburgh Hall is taking part in a campaign called No Mow May, which is calling on everyone to switch off their mowers for a month.

Organisers Plantlife said allowing lawns to grow would provide "a feast of nectar for our hungry pollinators".

At Oxburgh, the lack of visitors to the National Trust property - because of lockdown - has already prompted the wildlife to flourish in ways not seen before.

Dea Fischer, the house's senior gardener, said: "It's been so interesting to see with the quieter footfalls through the gardens through Covid, how quickly wildlife and the wild flowers have come back into the spaces.

"So we're trying to hold onto some of that benefit and find ways to incorporate that a bit more permanently into our practices."

Even once May is over the lawns will be scythed rather than mowed, which is considered a more eco-friendly way of cutting grass.

While stately homes traditionally had perfectly manicured gardens, at Oxburgh they are planning to take a wilder approach more generally in the future.

"The highly manicured gardens of yesterday have less relevance as our climate is changing," Ms Fischer added.

"We need to learn to use our gardens in a different way."