With extreme weather becoming common in many places worldwide, more homeowners are rethinking their traditional yards.
Going the alternative route is especially beneficial in places like Texas, where summers are brutally hot and dry, and winters are filled with ice storms and hard freezes.
In a Reddit post to r/gardening, one homeowner shared photos of their original Texas lawn compared to how it has evolved into a beautiful and natural wild yard.
Instead of standard, resource-draining grass, the yard is now filled with desert willows, Mexican feather grass, autumn sage, gaura, dwarf Mexican petunia, and many other flowers, vegetables, and plants.
The homeowner wrote, "My front yard is now an anole lizard and pollinator resort. I love it."
By working with nature instead of fighting against it, the original poster is likely saving substantial time, money, and effort on lawn maintenance.
Natural lawns help homeowners lower their water bills, spend less on lawn care costs, and waste less time on outdoor chores. They also create healthy ecosystems for local pollinators that perpetuate our food supply and bring balance to the natural world.
The OP shared that their water bill decreased and wildlife activity increased, as many more native species were attracted to the yard after the transformation.
Low-maintenance lawn care options also make yards more resilient to extreme weather changes, like record-breaking temperatures, triggered by human activity.
🗣️ 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
Reddit users were impressed with the OP's before-and-after photos and admired all the hard work they put into their natural yard. It's encouraging to see such positive feedback on alternative yard setups like this shared online and in our own neighborhoods.
"Absolutely stunning transformation," one Reddit user wrote in the comment section. "Bet when everyone else has dry, dusty lawns, yours is still a riot of color and texture."
A Redditor commented, "Great plants. Great levels. That's a house I would slowly walk past often."
"Almost daily, I have people stop to tell me how much they enjoy taking the time to walk by the garden," the OP wrote. "Overall, the response has been very positive."
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