From neat lawns to wild havens: how No Mow May is transforming England’s gardens

Cheshire villagers are letting lawns grow wild to improve diversity and reconnect with nature on their doorstep Ian Waddington was crouched in his garden last summer, inspecting loose paving, when he lifted a slab and spotted something extraordinary: a tiny field mouse nestled in a hollow, feeding four babies – each half the size of his little finger. “It was astonishing. Like life in miniature,” he says. After decades in the construction industry, the 86-year-old has found a new passion in reti