A proud gardener posted a dazzling series of photos depicting how their front yard went from a typical lawn to a lush garden buzzing with native wildlife and plants.
A Redditor from Wisconsin shared a post with 13 pictures of their journey from a standard lawn to a natural front yard. The photos span roughly a year, showing the hard work it took to rewild this lawn.
These progress pictures were a wonderful gift to r/NativePlantGardening. People were elated to see the gardener's hard-earned success. The fruits of their labor included a range of flowers, native plants, and wild critters.
The photos displayed petunias, lanceleaf coreopsis, butterfly weed, tall Joe-Pye weed, asters, black-eyed Susans, and bluestems. In a comment, the original poster also detailed that they planted Ohio spiderwort and switchgrass. This vast variety is a prime example of how diverse natural lawns can be.
Beyond the native plants, the gardener also welcomed some friendly creatures. One picture captures beetles crawling around the plants. The final pictures show a butterfly cocoon and the monarch butterfly that came from it.
The gardener gets to admire these lovely creatures right in their front yard. This is one of the most endearing benefits of rewilding a lawn. Other benefits include saving money and time on lawn maintenance, avoiding harsh pesticides and herbicides, and using less water. You get a thriving, luscious space without all the mowing, spraying, and watering.
This Reddit post exemplifies how a natural lawn also supports pollinators. Pollinators, like bees, beetles, and butterflies, are essential for our food supply, as the USDA explained. Without their pollination, the world's crops would be severely endangered.
Even replacing a manicured non-native lawn with clover, buffalo grass, or xeriscaping is beneficial. You can spend less time on lawn maintenance and more time appreciating your local wildlife.
Commenters were ecstatic, supportive, and impressed. One person said, "Glorious! Made my day."
🗣️ Which of these benefits is your biggest motivation in gardening?
🔘 Getting outside more 🌱
🔘 Growing healthy food 🥕
🔘 Making my yard beautiful 🏡
🔘 I don't garden 🚫
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Another simply yodeled, "yahoooo!!!!" in excitement.
One noted how amazing it is to see nature flourish like this. They said, "Each year is just going to get better and better. Amazing how nature responds when we aren't working against it? A monarch right away!"
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