More wildlife in the garden thanks to Rewilding Mode from Husqvarna robotic mowers

'Don't Mow May' ahead of World Bee Day (May 20) and International Biodiversity Day (May 22)

Husqvarna, the global leader in robotic mowers, is launching the world's first feature to help "rewilding" private gardens on May 2. Rewilding Mode automatically leaves at least 5% of each lawn uncut, leaving space for a meadow for bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects. Farmers traditionally keep such a percentage of their land clear to promote biodiversity. Until now, no such standard existed for private gardens, despite the great potential to make a difference. If every European gardener allowed at least 5% of their garden to become wild, it would account for an area of more than 125,000 hectares, or twice the size of Europe's largest nature reserve, the Doñana National Park. 

Allow naturalization

With the Rewilding Mode, Husqvarna aims to create a new standard for private gardens with "wild" areas as a natural part of the lawn. This challenges the current idea of the ideal garden to some extent, in favor of a garden where perfectly manicured grass merges with meadow-like areas. Garden owners can play a major role, as private gardens are an important habitat for pollinators, accounting for 20 to 30% of urban areas in Europe¹. 

"Naturalization is a very simple solution but, however, requires a different mindset from the average garden owner. The ideal image of a 'manicured' lawn is abandoned. That does not mean, by the way, that the garden looks unattractive. On the contrary: a flower strip with a neatly mowed lawn in the foreground actually gives a very beautiful effect." says Anton de Jong, Director of Husqvarna Benelux. 

Meet the Rewilding Mode 

This new feature facilitates work by automatically reserving at least 5% of the garden for a rewilding area. Using satellites that measure the size of the garden, the robotic mower app calculates an area corresponding to this percentage as a starting point. Users can then choose to install the rewilding zone where it suits them best and expand it if necessary. 

The feature is available for Automower® robot mower models 405X, 415X and 435X AWD and for NERA models 430X NERA and 450X NERA installed with boundary wire. There are currently about 150,000 Husqvarna robotic mowers worldwide that support the new feature. 

The proportion of the garden left free by default is inspired by EU agricultural policy, which calls on farmers to dedicate 5% of their farmland to areas that promote biodiversity. 

Click here for more information on the Rewilding Mode. 

Ten tips to boost your rewilding zone 

Read here the 10 best tips from award-winning landscape and garden designer Tom Massey to promote biodiversity in private gardens. 

1 In Britain, there are about 520 thousand acres of private gardens in urban areas, accounting for 29.5% of the total urban area, according to ONS (Source). In Sweden, the total area of lawns is estimated at 22.5% according to the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (source).