Fighting HOAs is never fun, even when it's for a worthwhile cause. Sometimes, though, it pays off in major ways.
A Redditor showed just how effective these conflicts can be when they posted photos of their parents' (almost) native plant garden. The photos show the garden before and after they "worked with their HOA to convert their garden to native." They had to leave a couple of non-native plants, but overall, the conversion was successful.
HOAs are not known for their flexibility when it comes to what you can plant and how your garden can look. According to the National Wildlife Federation, HOAs tend to want people to have yards with turf grass and plants that aren't native to the region. This makes yards look roughly all the same, or at least like they belong together. However, it also requires people to use expensive chemical pesticides and fertilizers to keep these yards alive.
A study published in Interdisciplinary Toxicology explains that these synthetic chemicals can cause a lot of problems. They can contaminate not only the soil but also any water that flows through that soil. They can also kill a lot of living things beyond weeds, including insects, other plants, fish, and birds. This limits biodiversity and, over time, may turn the soil toxic so it's hard to grow anything there at all.
As this Redditor shows, though, there is hope. If you are one of the more than 70 million people who live in communities run by an HOA, you can work to change the bylaws and make it so people can not only grow native plants but also install solar panels, collect runoff in water barrels, and more.
It won't be long before you'll be able to change up your yard and get comments like this Redditor did.
"Looks amazing! You really worked hard on that, congrats!" someone said.
Another added, "Yay!!! This is the way in an HOA. Looks so much better now."
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.
Cool Picks
