Mowing your lawn early on a Sunday morning is “very disturbing” and should not be done, a leading gardening expert has said.
According to a survey by DIY chain Tool Station, most people do not like the idea of their neighbours mowing the lawn before 9am.
It is something Monica Alvarez, a judge on RTÉ’s Super Garden, said is just bad neighbourliness.
“The first thing we understood when we decided to live together in cities and towns and have neighbours around us is that the law is, ‘Don’t do to others what you don’t want others to do to you,’ Ms Alvarez told Newstalk Breakfast.
“One of those things is waking someone up early in the morning - it’s very disturbing.
“Even in terms of gardening, there are so many other ways in which one can look after one’s garden without noise.”
Even if you are keen to get out early and tend to your garden, Ms Alvarez recommends doing so as quietly as possible.
“The very best way of gardening is always with hand held tools,” she said.
“[It’s] for your own enjoyment of the experience, where you are more in contact with nature, you are not disturbing wildlife either.
“So, the best way of pruning is actually with hand held tools, you’re actually doing a better job.
“The other bits and pieces you can use the machinery for, they can be done later and they can be done using electric tools that are a lot gentler.”
No mow gardens
Another alternative is simply not mowing your lawn at all; campaigners argue leaving your lawn to grow is much better for wildlife and will enhance your garden far more than a neat lawn ever could.
“I am in favour of that,” Ms Alvarez said.
“There’s nothing nicer than sitting in your garden, observing how butterflies and different insects engage with space.
“To even explore how many different varieties of insects are here and that cannot happen if you have a perfect lawn.
“I do understand why people just want to maybe lie down on the grass and put a towel there on a sunny day and that kind of thing.”
Main image: Lawn mower on green grass. Picture by: Alamy.com
