The benefits of filling your lawn with native plant species are numerous (potentially endless?), and sharing the success of a native plant lawn is well deserved.
On the r/NativePlantGardening subreddit, a user from Illinois posted photos of their native plant species that they used to beautify and landscape their lawn. "I'm really proud of what I've done to change that in my own yard and would like to share," the user captioned the photos.
The Reddit poster listed all of the beautiful native plants in their lawn, which included plains coreopsis, black-eyed Susans, coral honeysuckles, and creeping phlox. They also explained that they began planting native plant species in their yard in the suburbs years ago once they realized that few of their neighbors had any.
Native plant species are more important than ever, as biodiversity is threatened by the effects of habitat loss. The National Audubon Society says urbanization and suburban sprawl have had major impacts on biodiverse habitats, stating: "The continental U.S. lost a staggering 150 million acres of habitat and farmland to urban sprawl, and that trend isn't slowing."
Much of the loss of biodiversity is from the obsession with perfect green grass lawns, which cover over 40 million acres of land in the country, per the National Audubon Society.
The good news is, if you do live in an urban or suburban area that may have been built over natural ecosystems, you can still take action to better your local biodiversity by having a native plant lawn.
Along with supporting your local ecosystem, you will also save time and money. Native plant species evolved to the specific climate and weather conditions of their locale, meaning they require less work (i.e. water and pesticides) to maintain. It is a win-win for your natural community and wallet alike.
Commenters on the Reddit post were supportive and full of praise for the native plant landscaping.
"It is a lovely planting. Well done," commented one user.
"You should be proud! Those look like they're doing great! I've been dreaming about how to make native plants more popular in the suburbs too - especially when our eastern woodlands flowers aren't quite so showy. I'm thinking of trying to sell people on butterfly gardens," added another.
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