A proud homeowner posted dramatic before-and-after photos after three years spent rewilding their backyard, boasting a transformation that left Redditors in awe.
The photos in the subreddit r/NoLawns show a bleak, dirt-filled yard turned into a green oasis, blooming with wildflowers, native grasses, and vegetable beds.
"Really excited with all the growth we're getting this year!" they wrote. "We finally have the last few barren spots filling in with new growth thanks to such a rainy spring. The raised beds are finished and irrigated with a crop of early onions about ready to harvest. We also got the arbors built in with a bunch of melon, squash, and cucumber vines starting to provide some shade. Can't wait to see how it evolves this year!"
Commenters congratulated them on their success in leveling up their lawn.
"This looks incredible! I love the whimsical look of the place," one person enthused. "[I] could spend hours there."
"This is gorgeous!" another agreed.
The dramatic transformation in these photos clearly took a great deal of effort — but in the long run, switching from water-guzzling grass to low-maintenance natural lawns generally saves gardeners both time and money.
Using native plants, like this gardener did, is the most affordable option. Since they've already evolved to thrive in their local conditions, they need barely any upkeep.
As a bonus, gardeners who go no-mow can bid adieu to costly and polluting lawn tools … some of which are worse polluters than cars.
🗣️ If you have a lawn, what aspect of it do you value most?
🔘 The way it looks 🤩
🔘 The way my family uses it 👪
🔘 It's enjoyable to mow 😎
🔘 It's cheap to maintain 💰
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
There's another type of backyard resident that benefits when people go natural: animals, particularly pollinators such as bees, birds, and bats. And with pollinators directly responsible for sustaining nearly 80% of all the flowering plants and crops that make up our food supply, according to the U.S. Forest Service, it's critical that we all act to create abundant habitat for them.
"You are a hero to millions of adorable little critters (and some not so adorable but equally important)," one person pointed out.
Others agreed, calling the relandscaped yard "magnificent" and "an amazing place … for the native creatures and yourself."
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