This Reddit post features an unconventional lawn makeover — the poster returned the yard to the way it looked before anyone lived there.
Landscaping and yard maintenance can be a stressor for some families, and this Redditor decided to forego it altogether. The user let their yard populate with the plants that naturally grow in the area instead of a perfectly manicured lawn.
The trend towards letting go of cookie-cutter lawns is coming in many forms. Some are turning to clover lawns, and one environmental group — Re:wild Your Campus — is helping colleges to redesign campuses with native plants, among other environmental initiatives.
The Redditor uses a "no-dig/cardboard sheet mulch method" to get rid of the non-native species they had previously planted and reset the soil.
This method calls for biodegradable materials like cardboard or newspaper to be laid on the ground and covered with soil. Over time, the lack of sunlight kills the plants or weeds that were originally growing, the cardboard or newspaper decomposes, and the soil becomes fresh and ready for new plants.
From there, the Redditor allows for native plants to begin growing again. Allowing native plants to populate your yard can save quite a bit of money, cutting down on the need for pesticides and expensive lawn maintenance.
"[It is] much easier and it kept weeds down all summer," the original poster said.
An added bonus is that it's also great for the environment.
Native plants are integral to protecting water sources — they limit erosion and remove excess plant nutrients from the water. On top of that, native plants don't require pesticides because they have adapted to the challenges in the areas, meaning there's less pollution in the runoff that ends up in local water sources.
Additionally, native plants benefit local wildlife. "[They] create a refuge for vulnerable creatures to populate," American Native Plants reports.
Redditors encouraged the idea, commenting, "Good start!" and "Looks good! This is my type of nolawn."
Other Redditors agreed that growing native plants was a better alternative, "Yeah I did the lawn delete," comments one user.
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