One homeowner amazed Redditors with before-and-after photos of their monoculture lawn turned secret garden.
In a recent post, the Redditor shared images of their front yard transformation. The before images show two large trees covering a dry and dying lawn, the in-between photos show the process of digging trenches and planting flower beds, and the final images show a stunning and lush green landscape encompassing the house.
"Someone told me to post this here," the Reddit user wrote in their caption.
The images appear in a forum dedicated to ending monoculture lawns, which only use one species of plant — usually a type of grass.
The aesthetic benefits of moving away from these bland lawns are clear from the Redditor's images. The first photo shows a boring and lifeless landscape, while the final images show tremendous curb appeal while also giving the homeowner some natural privacy.
But there are more than visual reasons to ditch monoculture lawns. For one thing, they require a ton of time and, most importantly, a lot of water.
The U.S. uses roughly 20 trillion gallons of water every year to keep lawns fresh and green. Meanwhile, we're in a historic period of droughts and dealing with severe weather fluctuations brought on by Earth's rising temperatures.
Lawns don't only take up precious resources, but they further offend by not contributing anything useful to the environment. That's because lawns don't provide any habitats for pollinators, which are critical to healthy crops and the food chain at large. It's one reason the "no mow" movement (a movement pushing for untamed lawns) is gaining so much popularity.
Meanwhile, vibrant and diverse yards like the one in the images create tons of homes for pollinators. It's why more homeowners are seeking out advice on how to grow them from green thumb experts.
The Redditor's post has shown that the patience and dedication required to cultivate a biodiverse yard are well worth it, and they've clearly inspired others.
"This has made my day. What a stunning transformation. Nice job 👍," one Redditor wrote.
"Enchanting! The refined color choices — white and blues against the greens with a little yellow for spice — impressive," another commented.
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