Country diary: let the grasshoppers grow

Sandy, Bedfordshire: The lawn hasn't been mowed since the first greenish-brown babies appeared in early June, and the inhabitants are chirruping their approvalAll summer long, passersby have halted at the top of our garden to read a sign pinned to the gatepost, then they smile or even giggle. I hope that I might have saved them unnecessary work.Germany has a name for the "classic" lawn: it is the englischer Rasen, a close-mown, single species turf. Our social media gatepost offers an alternative - a Jiminy Cricket-like cartoon insect declares that ours is a grasshopper nature reserve and that we are letting the grass grow until the end of the season. Continue reading...