A confused resident took to Reddit to discuss one of the reasons the grass is not always greener on the other side of a new house's fence.
The Redditor posted two photos to the r/NoLawns subreddit. The first is of a charming, older house nestled between trees with a lawn landscaped with shrubs and very little grass. The second, presumably the same lot, shows two large, brand-new houses in place of most of the trees with expansive, dead grass lawns in front of them.
"Why do builders do this?" the OP asked above the pictures. "They completely destroy a nice shady canopy for dull grass that will fry during the summer."
"It's significantly easier to flatten and develop a property with no trees than to work around them and preserve the roots," one user commented.
"The only true exceptions I would give to developers is if the trees are invasive to the local environment or if the trees are already in poor shape/present a danger to the structure of the house," another added. A third pointed out that the trees may have been removed for fire protection.
The bottom line is that, whatever the reason for removing the beautiful and beneficial trees, there are far better landscaping options that benefit both homeowners and the environment than wasteful monoculture grass lawns.
As the OP pointed out, the grass looks fried, and the only solution is water — tons of it. According to the EPA, residential outdoor water use in the United States accounts for nearly 8 billion gallons of water each day, mostly for landscape irrigation.
As you can imagine, this would also cost the homeowners a ton of money, just to maintain a grass lawn that offers nothing to the local wildlife. Alternatively, had the developer foregone grass lawns and opted instead for native plants, they would have done the homeowners and the planet a solid.
Since they are adapted to the local environment, native plants require little to no water and maintenance. They also provide crucial habitats for pollinators, who protect our food supply.
So, while it may cost the new owners of these homes a bit upfront, swapping their grass, or even a portion of it, for native landscaping or natural lawn alternatives will make a huge difference in the long run.
Aside from offering reasons for the landscaping choice, commenters had plenty to say.
"I can't stand people who make these decisions," lamented one. "It's selfish and bad for the environment.
"Wow, thats really sad," another accurately stated.
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