One Redditor received some hard-earned praise after sharing progress photos of their native plant garden.
Posted in r/NativePlantGardening, the gardener proudly arranged snapshots of their home garden in reverse chronological order. First they showed off the current bloom in all its glory, then they took viewers all the way back to 2021, when they had just started the project.
Turning lawns into native plant galleries is not only beautiful — these species require less oversight than traditional garden plants, too. That means they can help homeowners save on costly water bills and time-consuming maintenance. They could even add something tasty and pest-repelling to your kitchen.
Cultivating a native lawn also boosts the health of the surrounding ecosystem, especially for local pollinators. In doing so, humans also benefit, as pollinators protect food supplies around the globe.
Xeriscaping, a landscaping method that minimizes the need for non-natural watering, is another way to adapt lawns to better suit their environments while helping you save on utilities. Even converting only some of a lawn space into a native or xeriscaped area can offer homeowners these benefits.
Deciding which plant species to use depends on where you live, though clover and buffalo grass are common base layer choices across the United States. The r/NativePlantGardening community is full of tips and tricks for specific areas, as are other smaller subreddits, such as r/nativeplants and r/NoLawns.
The results can be stunning, and well worth the effort, as the original poster proved. They took their garden all the way from a sparse rock bed to a lush green expanse complete with eye-catching accents of gold, deep reds, and purples.
"Beautiful! This gives me hope!" one commenter wrote.
"Thanks for including the progress pics; really cool to see!" another added.
Someone else said: "Incredible! You have a great understanding of proportion and color."
Want to introduce native gardening into your home? Check out our guide for easy steps to make the switch, and read up on more helpful tips from the community.
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