Proud homeowner met with warnings after sharing problematic photo of front yard: 'Now fix that'

A homeowner took to Reddit to show off the work they'd put in on their lawn, but commenters caught a potentially serious problem. 

In the r/landscaping subreddit, the poster showed a picture of a newly trimmed and edged lawn with the caption "Busted my a**."

While the lawn looks very nice, and the Redditor was clearly proud of the raking and dethatching work they'd done, other users noted the mulch volcano around the seedling in the middle of the yard. 

A mulch volcano is what happens when mulch is piled around the base of a tree, and it is a fairly common landscaping occurrence. However, as detailed by a report from Ohio State University, piling mulch in that fashion can damage and even kill trees over the long term. 

It can hold moisture against the bark of the tree, causing it to get moldy and decay, which exposes the wood to the same fate. The inner bark also contains phloem, which moves nutrients, and without those, the tree dies. 

Making matters worse, the tree will build a second root system in the mulch, and these roots can wrap around the trunk, strangling it slowly. A more effective strategy is a thin, even layer of mulch around the tree's base in a donut shape to keep it healthy, well-watered, and thriving. 

Another landscaping option is to rewild your lawn with native plants and grasses. It saves money, reduces water usage, and looks incredible. 

In this case, commenters were quick to tell the person to fix their mulch. 

"Dude you're gonna kill your tree with the mulch like that," one said. "Move it all away from the trunk and make sure it isn't buried too deep."

What's the worst thing about taking care of your yard? The time it takes ⏰ How noisy it is 🙉 It's too expensive 💸 I don't have a yard 🤷🏾‍♀️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"Nice job with the lawn," another said. "Now fix that mulch volcano you got going on with the tree."

The poster also took to the comments to note that they had "large native plants that bees and pollinators love."

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.