Homeowner met with warnings after making common landscaping blunder: 'It is, in fact, a nightmare'

Despite the growing apathy for landscape fabric, the material is still relatively popular with first-time gardeners. Major retailers continue to stock a variety of brands because they sell.

Fortunately, there is a growing subset of voices out there highlighting the disadvantages: "It is, in fact, a nightmare." A recent Reddit post in the r/landscaping subreddit features a fresh boxwood driveway and garden, with response posts pointing out this landscape fabric flaw.

There's little doubt the OP's handiwork is impressive, especially as an admitted, burgeoning gardener with little experience. It's a classic case of altruistic blunder, though it may take some time for the problematic landscape fabric to rear its ugly head.

The issue is that landscape fabric is a non-biodegradable material, generating microplastic pollution as it breaks down under the weight of UV exposure, weather, and plant growth.

This degraded material creates havoc, the least of which is aesthetic, with tiny bits of material sticking out of the ground or spread throughout the yard. Not exactly what gardeners are looking for in terms of artful appeal.

These shredded materials, easily picked up and carried by wind, insects, birds, and other animals, contaminate soil and water, releasing chemical additives such as UV inhibitors and stabilizers.

Trying to reverse the mistake is problematic as well. The material is notoriously difficult to clean up, shredding and clinging to everything, especially when attempting to pull it up from the ground.

Fortunately, the OP's heart is in the right place, and fellow Redditors were more than happy to point out the detrimental aspects of landscape fabric, hopefully well before the material begins to break down.

Awareness of the pitfalls of landscape fabric is beginning to flourish, as is the use of native plants and natural gardens, which reduce the need for extensive watering while attracting pollinators to the area.

According to a National Gardening Survey, 25% of people purchase native plants, a growth of 17% since 2020. These plants result in a healthier ecosystem while bolstering our food supply.

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.

Hopefully, the word on landscape fabric will continue to spread, along with the healthy aspects of native gardening.

Still, as several response posts were quick to point out, it's not a bad job at all for a first-time gardener: "Nice work! The spacing is slightly off, and the fabric was a mistake, but it will look nice and full in a couple of years."

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