There have been a lot of success stories of folks rewilding their lawns and planting native gardens. One homeowner shared their beautiful before-and-after transformation on Reddit.
The carousel of photos shared to r/NativePlantGardening shows the posters' lovely patio and surrounding gardens. The first picture shows the initial planting, and the second shows the second year.
"Second year on my native garden and feeling pretty good," wrote the home gardener.
The poster goes on to share several close-up photos of their plants. Some of the grasses provide a safe place for seeds or eggs, while the flowers attract bees and monarch butterflies. There is even a photo showing several indigo buntings on a bird bath.
It's incredible to see the biodiversity a native garden can bring to your yard. As a bonus, this poster also included a very robust spreadsheet about their garden.
In recent years, more and more people have been moving away from traditional grass lawns and gardening with native plants. According to the 2023 National Gardening Survey, "One in four people (25 percent) specifically buy native plants. An increase from 17 percent in 2020. The number of people planning to transform a portion of their lawn to wildflower native landscape has doubled from 9 percent in 2019 to 19 percent in 2021."
Transforming your lawn can save you thousands of gallons of water and hundreds of dollars a year on lawn maintenance. It's also a great way to help your local ecosystem. As one example, a study of backyards in Washington, D.C., found that, in areas where less than 70% of the plants are native species, Carolina chickadees aren't able to raise their young to sustain their population.
The Reddit community was supportive of the native garden and offered additional advice.
One commenter wrote, "Looks amazing! Having a garden like this is my goal."
🗣️ 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
Someone else said, "This looks so nice!"
Another person loved their data visualization: "Came for the pollinators, stayed for the spreadsheet."
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