Lawn growers throw in the trowel as meadows replace perfect stripes

Traditional mowing regimes being ditched as aesthetics and morality come under scrutiny

They were once a status symbol for the rich, and later the pride and joy of suburbia. But the immaculately striped, tightly mown lawn is becoming an endangered species.

Monty Don this week called time on the predominantly male, British obsession" with a tidy lawn, arguing that fossil-fuel-powered mowing was noisy and about the most injurious thing you can do to wildlife".