A Redditor who took a risk with their rental home shared photos of the transformation online.
More and more people are moving away from traditional lawns, which are expensive and time-consuming to maintain and can pollute local water sources with fertilizer and pesticides.
Instead, many use native or drought-resistant plants that are low maintenance and provide food and shelter for local pollinators. Some receive help from companies like Yardzen that create professional, custom layouts with native plants.
Usually, the residents own the homes they're updating. But in this case, the one who added the garden was a tenant.
"Before and after in side yard of our home," said the Redditor, posting two pictures. The "before" image showed a sparse, weedy strip of lawn running along a brick house. The space was dotted with junk, including plastic bins and wooden boards.
The "after" picture showed an inviting path between two lush flower beds, with tall sunflowers on one side. The beds were trimmed in white gravel, and the trash had been tidied away.
According to the Redditor, the new landscaping was "inexpensive, made with deepest love and respect for this home and the wild that was here before the bricks were."
"We're in an insane drought so this is the best we can do," they said, although the plants seem to be doing just fine.
According to the Redditor, they used a technique called "succession planting," in which a gardener plants multiple kinds of plants that will mature at different rates so there's always something blooming. "Soon everything will change and start to grow taller as summer marches on," they added.
There was a lot of appreciation for the hard work in the comments.
One person said, "Deep respect! So wonderful. We need more of this in the world."
"Did the landlord give you a discount on rent?!" asked one commenter. "That's a ton of work and money in plants. Increasing the value of the landlord's property!"
"This comment makes me feel so much better," replied the original poster. "I'm actually scared I'm going to lose my deposit for this even though I've spent years tending to it! He's yet to see it."
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more, waste less, and help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
