Grass lawns are so last year, and one Redditor ditched grass for good. The user turned their yard into a beautiful garden for free with the help of government rebates.
In a popular post, the user shared impressive before-and-after photos of their yard. The before photo features a sparse, empty grass yard with just a trampoline. The after photos make this yard nearly unrecognizable.
BEFORE/AFTER Took a crack at the backyard. Moving the trampoline made a big difference, wouldn't you say 😆 Best part: $0 net cost (courtesy of LA DWP rebate)
by u/Far_Calligrapher2208 in NoLawns
Their transformed garden is a mixture of drought-tolerant landscaping, like mulch, decomposed granite, and pea gravel. The yard is overflowing with plants and shrubs, and it even includes a tunnel trellis.
The Redditor said they recovered all their costs by registering for the SoCal Water$mart Residential Rebates program.
This rebate program aims to reduce regional water demands and guarantee water reliability in Southern California. The region has struggled with droughts and water shortages in recent years, a problem worsened by rising global temperatures.
The program offers $2 per square foot if you replace grass with organic, drought-tolerant landscaping. After submitting plans and before-and-after photos, this Redditor received $4,000 for their front yard and $5,000 for their back yard.
They saved even more money by reusing and upcycling materials, shopping at a wholesale nursery, purchasing used tools, and tackling all the manual labor themselves. In the end, they completed this entire landscaping overhaul without spending a dollar of their own money.
Not only did they save loads of money on this yard makeover, but they are now saving water, too.
Grass lawns are notorious for high water consumption. Landscape irrigation accounts for about one-third of all residential water usage in the United States. That totals about 9 billion gallons of water per day.
In drought-plagued areas like Southern California, it's important to preserve every drop. With grass requiring about over half a gallon of water per square foot for every watering, households can waste thousands of gallons of water every year, depending on their lawn size.
This Redditor's yard requires significantly less water to maintain now, redirecting the supply to other essential uses.
Reddit users were astonished by this transformation, complimenting this Redditor's work in the comment section.
"Wow, I was not expecting those after images," a user says. "Especially for $0 net cost. That's incredible!"
"Talk about transformation," one Redditor writes.
Another Reddit user adds, "Beautiful and cheap! The best combination in the world."
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