Getting rid of an invasive species can be daunting, but one gardener has shared photo proof that it can be done.
In a Reddit post, a user shared pictures of their newly renovated sloped lawn featuring all native plants.
The Redditor posted in the r/NoLawns subreddit with the caption: "In year 1 of converting English ivy patch to natives."
The before-and-after images show a slope covered in English ivy and the stages of transforming it. The user wrote: "After many hours and cursing, the ivy is out and natives are in! I'm sure I'll be pulling the stray ivy out for a few years, but really proud of the work here."
This homeowner is about to reap the rewards of having a native-plant yard. Native plants require less time and money to maintain than traditional grass lawns. They need less water, fertilizers, and manual labor.
Native plants are also great for the environment. They reduce water consumption and provide a healthy environment for pollinators, which play an important role in protecting our food supply.
As this Redditor showed, rewilding your yard will take some work at first, but it then provides many benefits.
Some natural lawn options to consider are clover, microclover, and buffalo grass. Even a partial lawn replacement will allow homeowners to reap the rewards and support a thriving ecosystem.
Commenters on the Reddit post were excited to see this transformation, acknowledging it can be difficult to eliminate invasive species. One user said: "Godspeed, English ivy sucks."
Other users were curious to know more about this gardener's process. One commenter asked: "What type of barrier is that?" The original poster responded: "It's jute, so it will break down in about a year."
Another user said: "Nice! I see so many small slopes in my neighborhood covered in ivy and wondered how easily they could be converted … especially without causing too much erosion."
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