A garden space can transform in an incredibly short amount of time, as one home gardener proved.
The Redditor shared an amazing before-and-after photo of their backyard garden space's transformation in just three months.
The before photo shows a few small bunches of plants and empty space surrounding a muddy-looking water feature. The after photo is bursting with color and life, showing thriving plants and a well-utilized water feature.
The gardener said in a comment that they planted cardinal flowers, Juncus rush, coral bells, rudbeckia hybrids, joe pye weed, brown eyed Susan, purple coneflower, yarrow, swamp loosestrife, swamp milkweed, blue flag iris, Canada goldenrod, with white water lily and pickle rush in the water. They also noted there are a few non-native plants in the mix.
Their post was tagged as being located in the Zone 6a Chicago area, a designation of the Plant Hardiness Zones map put together by the USDA. The map helps determine what plants thrive in what climates in the U.S. based on light, temperature, soil moisture, humidity, and exposure to cold, based on 30-year averages.
Paying attention to what plants are best suited to grow in your garden is a great way to bring native plants back into your yard and save money in the process. Native plants require less maintenance, water, and other resources and add to the local ecosystem. Apart from flowers and plants, switching your lawn from standard grass to something like a meadow lawn or clover is a great way to save time, money, and energy as well.
Another benefit to the bountiful garden is that it provides food and shelter for wildlife, including pollinators. One person in the comments asked about hummingbirds being fans of the cardinal flowers, the gardener's favorite, and they confirmed they see them a lot. Hummingbirds, along with other birds, bees, and insects, act as pollinators, spreading the material necessary to help plants reproduce, aiding the local environment and the food supply.
On top of all those benefits, the lawn is also just visually appealing.
"That is quite simply awe inspiring," one person commented.
Another wrote, "Three months?! Wow! It's so well done and I really [love] the dispersal of colors. Your critters must love it there!"
In another response, the OP noted that a toad named Bibby has made frequent visits.
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