Even the best intentions don't always produce the best results — and one amateur gardener learned that the hard way after attempting to rewild their yard with native plants.
They wrote about their predicament in the subreddit r/NoLawns.
"Help! How do I naturally remove invasive/exotic plants that [are] everywhere??" they said. "I recently decided to try not mowing large patches of my yard so that native plants/flowering weeds could grow to feed the bees etc."
They continued, writing that after a little while, it "turns out I have mostly exotic/invasive species growing wild! Now I have no idea how to get rid of all of these plants/weeds without using weed killer. I have .76 acres, so it would be too much to go through and pull all of the weeds by hand."
"I feel so stupid," they lamented. "I assumed if they were growing naturally, then they were good plants but I see now that of course it's not that easy."
Fortunately, commenters were less harsh on OP than they were on themselves.
"Recently I went on native plant garden tours," one person shared. "Guess what? Nobody had just native plants! … It's okay to have non native plants, just work towards more natives and if you find a particularly bad actor do a directed search and destroy."
Many others also encouraged this gradual approach. One person shared that, in addition to some selective pruning, "I plant native species on purpose as I (slowly) dig out the grass to replace with xeriscaping and food-producing plants."
And one suggested borrowing a slightly less conventional landscaping tool: A goat.
🗣️ What's the hardest thing about taking care of your yard?
🔘 Mowing the lawn 🏡
🔘 Controlling weeds 🌿
🔘 Keeping pests at bay 🐿️
🔘 I don't have a yard 🤷
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
"It's a real thing," they said. "We actually have a local goat service that we can hire to go after buckthorn and poison ivy. I don't know what else they eat, but it's a great service!"
Taking these steps, no matter how gradual, is not only beneficial for a local ecosystem, as the original poster mentioned, but they also create a cheaper, easier yard to maintain for homeowners.
When it comes to planning for future rewilding efforts, one person advised to take advantage of a free service and "contact your local Native Plant Society branch! They'll come to your place and assay what's growing in your yard, tell you what natives will do well, and even hand you some native garden designs."
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