Last year, a Redditor in Western Europe started growing flowers instead of grass to support local pollinators.
The user shared a photo of their progress in a subreddit dedicated to replacing lawns with more beautiful, convenient, and eco-friendly alternatives. Providing food and shelter for butterflies and bees is a major focus of the group.
"Was told to post here," the Redditor said in their post. "I converted large parts of my lawn into wild flower patches to be a bro to bees and other wildlife."
Their progress photo showed a thriving mixture of multicolored flowers, which they said came from a "bee mix" seed packet they bought locally.
While many applauded the Redditor for their choice to move away from a water-guzzling turf grass lawn, some pointed out there was more the homeowner could do for local pollinators.
"Ideally, to support the pollinators and other insects native to your area, you'll want to choose plants native to your area," said one popular comment.
"Others have told me the same thing," the original poster replied. They also detailed plans to keep working on their flower mix.
"I've been handed some interesting links to sites who carry seeds which can help me with this," they said. "Apparently the flowers I have now are not permanent so I should be able to change it up next year to something sustainable and native."
They also expressed frustration that the seed mix they bought contained non-native plants.
"We have the same problem here in North America," said the commenter. "Wholesalers just use whatever seed is widely available and looks good."
One way to avoid this widespread problem is to get advice from a landscaping professional with experience in rewilding, like Yardzen. They can help homeowners choose plants tailored to their growing conditions and lifestyles.
Despite the small hiccup, the original poster's beautiful results helped convince other users to change their lawns, too. "This is awesome! I'm going to do the same to my lawn," said one commenter.
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