Anja Murray: Each well-kept lawn is its own little war on nature

Let it grow: One-third of the 98 wild bee species here are at risk of extinction, so every wildflower counts

Lawns are where we rigidly reconstruct nature, stamp out diversity and impose straight lines and sharp edges.

Time to tidy up the garden? Perhaps pluck a few weeds, sweep the patio, and repair the fence? Mow the lawn? 

Lawns are the main feature of most Irish gardens. A proper lawn takes a lot of work to maintain, so I am reliably informed. Conventional wisdom holds that lawn grass should be no more than three centimetres long, neatly mown, and uniform in appearance. There’s a great deal of effort involved to stop any moss from growing and generally achieving homogenous perfection, in particular making sure that no such thing as dandelions or daisies should contaminate the space.