As the old saying goes, if you build it, they will come. Well, after tending to their garden, a mother and daughter recently realized that feeling, discovering a mini-zoo's worth of wildlife setting down roots among their plants and trees. 

Posting a carousel of about 20 photos that showcase a wide range of birds, mammals, amphibians, and more on the r/Animals subreddit, the daughter wrote, "My mom and I's garden has gotten out of [hand] and this is the amount of wildlife it attracts now. (or at least a part of it)."

In a comment, she added, "All the pictures were taken [in the] backyard. It used to be 22,000 square [feet] of lawn, but not as turned into almost a forest. There [are no] bird feeders to attract them, they eat the fruits and seeds the garden offers them."

Now, they are lucky to have enough space to accommodate this amount and variety of wildlife. But we can all create conditions on a smaller scale in our own gardens to foster the same kind of wildlife engagement, and that's through the process of rewilding. 

As the word suggests, rewilding is the process by which a plot of land is returned to its natural state, untouched by any chemicals, gardening tools, or the like. Rewilding is very common in the context of bigger landscapes like national parks or forests, but you can certainly rewild your yard as well. One way to do that is by installing plants native to your ecosystem.

A natural lawn can save you significant money and time on maintenance and can lower water bills. In addition, they also create a healthier ecosystem for pollinators, which ultimately benefits everyone, as pollinators protect the global food supply. Even a partial lawn replacement can provide these same benefits.

Understandably, commenters salivated over this de facto backyard menagerie.

"Don't worry about your garden getting out of hand," read a top comment. "Enjoy the wildlife as so much of their habitat has been destroyed."

"Birds and amphibians need our help, thanks for helping them," one user wrote.

"This is the most beautiful enchanted garden I've ever seen!" exclaimed another Redditor.

How often will you be gardening this summer? Every day 🥗 At least once a week 🥕 At least once a month 🌱 I don't garden 🚫 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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