Gardening can be a little challenging, even when done with the best intentions.

As one Redditor found out, the installation of a simple weed barrier can have significant effects they weren't aware of.

After attempting to appease their local homeowners association, one homeowner found out the hard way that weed barriers can alter the health of your soil. To find out what was going on with a dying shrub, they took to r/gardening in search of concrete answers.

The homeowner uploaded a small collection of photos that showed a shrub that had clearly seen better days.

"After being the bane of my HOA for years, I finally put down [a] weed barrier. Now my evergreens are dying," the original poster noted.

The Redditor acknowledged that the weed barrier may be the culprit, but they still weren't sure exactly why.

"It's been hot, but [definitely] not the hottest it's gonna get. I've been watering though. What's going on here? The obvious answer is the barrier fabric, but isn't it made for this??" the Redditor asked.

Luckily for the original poster, a few gardeners in the comments section appeared to have an idea as to why the unlucky shrub was slowly dying.

"Yeah, weed barrier doesn't allow water to infiltrate soil in a natural fashion," one user wrote. "Landscape fabric is a plague. It is essentially burying a layer of semi permeable plastic in your landscape."

Another commenter offered up an easy suggestion that may have allowed the original poster to get a better idea of what kind of damage they were looking at.

What's the hardest thing about taking care of your yard? Mowing the lawn 🏡 Controlling weeds 🌿 Keeping pests at bay 🐿️ I don't have a yard 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"I definitely recommend getting a stick-in-the-ground moisture meter for starters. Mine has saved me a lot of trouble," they added.

Weed barriers are intended to suppress certain species of weeds while ensuring a tidy garden space. However, they're ineffective, and as mentioned by the commenters, they can also have significant downsides that may outweigh any positives.

Weed barriers can lead to diminished soil health caused by a lack of proper aeration and water penetration. Not only can this cause compacted soil, but it can contribute to nutrient deficiencies that may stunt plant growth or, as seen in the original post, endanger the life of the plant altogether.

The material can also degrade over time, causing microplastic pollution that can harm wildlife and delicate ecosystems.

As a more eco-friendly alternative to weed barriers, native plant groundcovers offer a natural way to control weeds by creating dense mats that outcompete unwanted plants. Many native groundcovers thrive in diverse conditions, meaning they can be drought-tolerant. This can save you time, money, and effort by cutting down the need for watering and overall maintenance.

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