If you have a yard full of sod or grass, it may seem daunting to convert some of that space into a garden. After all, who wants to dig for hours?
Well, TikToker Brandon Gentry (@brandontgentry) has a solution for you. All you need is cardboard, a hose, and some soil. Gentry demonstrated the hack in a comedic post that has since amassed more than 423,000 likes. (Note: This video contains some explicit language).
@brandontgentry #gardeninghacks #homedepot #gardentips #landscape #flowerbed #viral @vans #gardenhack #homediy #hgtvshit #fyp #jeepwrangler #YesDayChallenge #fypシ ♬ Satisfaction - Benny Benassi & The Biz
The scoop
In the clip, Gentry explains that he laid some rocks down to serve as a doggie potty area after his pooches ruined his sod-covered yard by peeing on it. He says he wanted to, "surround the ugly a** dog toilet with a beautiful flower bed but didn't want to do all the backbreaking work of digging up all the sod."
Instead, he tried a hack he learned from multiple gardening websites. First, Gentry laid the flattened boxes over the area he wanted to convert into a garden bed, and then he used a garden hose to saturate these boxes with water. Finally, he spread a layer of topsoil over the wet cardboard.
Over time, he says, the soil and boxes should break down, creating the perfect flower bed. He posted an update video two months later in which he shared shots of a beautiful garden full of flowers with no grass growing through the soil.
@brandontgentry Flowerbed Update! #nobodysgonnaknow #howwouldtheyknow #gardeninghacks #viral #fyp #gardentips #gardenhack #hgtvshit #fypシ #flowerbed #homediy ♬ how would they know bad girls club - Chris Gleason
How it's helping
This hack saves time and effort, letting you focus on other important matters like selecting which flowers to add to your garden.
Gardening is good for your health, too. Being around plants helps people concentrate better and improves memory retention. Flowers boost our mood and can reduce stress-related depression. Gardening can also have therapeutic effects for people who have experienced trauma.
Plus, flowers help feed animals like bees, butterflies, and bats, which are important pollinators that help keep our food system going. Flowers and other plants also absorb carbon dioxide, releasing clean, oxygen-rich air into the environment. This is one small way that flowers can help reduce planet-warming gases.
What everyone's saying
Several TikTokers said they've used this method successfully, with one commenting, "I can confirm this is how all my beds have been made, every year it gets better too. Look up no-dig garden bed. Great job!!!"
"Fact! Done it several times. I've even used leaf bags!" another person said.
Even some experts chimed in: "Hey! Landscaper here, this is exactly how we do it :)"
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