A series of photos on Reddit showed how beautiful a yard can become when you ditch the idea that grass is a necessity.
The Redditor detailed how they made the shift with photos as evidence — the first featuring a green lawn consisting of moss and grass, followed by a barren, dug-up plot of land. The last few photos showed the transformation of plants growing in the newly laid soil.
"My yard's progression from a neglected grass lawn to a no-lawn in 2023!" the Redditor wrote.
The transformation wasn't all smooth sailing, though. The Redditor mentioned that after removing all of the grass and moss the first time, they didn't add enough soil, so many of the plants didn't survive. They had to start over the next spring.
Having learned from their previous mistake, the Redditor loosened the soil again and removed as many weeds as they could find, topping it off with significantly more soil. Then, they laid the flagstones and planted ground cover plants a few weeks later, resulting in a stunning no-lawn yard.
A grassy landscape in front of your house may seem easier to maintain, but it's actually more difficult than no-lawns like this one.
The perfect, lush grass that you're imagining isn't natural to most environments, meaning that you'll spend more time and money caring for it. These picturesque lawns require more pesticides and fertilizer — which pollute local waterways — and more time weeding out native plants trying to grow alongside your grass.
On the other hand, decreasing the amount of grass in your yard and potentially even planting some native species will save you time and money and will benefit the local ecosystem as well.
Native plants grow easier because they don't need to adapt to the environment, meaning they don't require as much supplies and maintenance, and they also provide food and resources for local wildlife. If you don't want to plant native species, here is a list of ground cover plants with explanations of where they grow best.
If you're interested in a no-lawn yard but aren't the outdoor type, the company Yardzen can help you out — they will strategically plant native species in your yard to shrink the amount of grass necessary.
Commenters on the post were in awe of the results.
"Fantastically cooler than just a lump of grass" wrote one user, while another added, "This is beyond inspiring!"
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