One homeowner was recently pleased to announce the completion of their front yard xeriscaping project.
The Redditor posted their update and photos in r/Xeriscape. "My professionally xeriscaped yard is complete!" they said. "They came out and finished it up today."
Xeriscaping is a method of landscaping with stone, gravel, mulch, and drought-tolerant plants to create a yard with minimal water needs. It helps owners save money and can be good for the environment thanks to all the water conserved, even if you only transform part of your yard.
In this case, the homeowner's "before" photo shows a dying, yellow lawn that is clearly suffering from a lack of water. Only a small evergreen tree seems to be thriving.
In the "after" pictures, however, the yard has come alive. Borders of beautiful stones separate mulch beds from a gravel background. The beds are dotted with young plants, and the one evergreen tree now presides over a fountain and several whimsical decorations.
"Think I finally got the drip irrigation pretty well dialed in," said the homeowner, celebrating the yard's reduced water needs. "The mulch being down should help too. Planning to run an hour in the mornings and an hour in the evenings until everything is established well, then dial it back since it should all be pretty drought tolerant."
The yard had already proved popular with local pollinators. "I've already been seeing butterflies and bees hanging out," said the original poster. "The bees seem to love the bird bath, so I'm super happy about that. The birds that live in the big spruce have been hopping around everywhere too."
🗣️ If you were to switch from a grass lawn to a more natural option, which of these factors would be your primary motivation?
🔘 Making it look better 🌱
🔘 Saving money on water and maintenance 💰
🔘 Helping pollinators 🐝
🔘 No way I ever get rid of my lawn 🚫
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Commenters were in love with the new and improved design. "Looks great!" said one user. "Can't wait to do something similar in my little yard."
"Looks great!" echoed another commenter. "Last year, when we had ours done, the bees and butterflies were all over the plants before they'd even gone into the ground. It's a really nice feeling. You probably qualify to certify your yard as a wildlife habitat if you wanted to."
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