Planting native flowers and grasses can turn any lawn into a backyard paradise, as one Reddit user revealed in photos they shared to the r/Ceanothus subreddit, which is dedicated to "Gardening with + admiring California Native Plants."
Their before photo shows a sad, blank space with just a few plants lining the house in a planter. But the after photos show the garden transformed into a landscape teeming with life, with colorful plants everywhere separated by a rock path and smaller stones.
"Spring blooms seemed to have come early this year due to the rain we got (inland San Diego)," the gardener said. "Waking up to lots of happy birds and insects every morning, and looking forward to the carpet of poppies and other wildflowers that's about to start flowering. Lost a couple of my salvias to ants last year so also looking forward to my newly planted ones filling in some space."
Planting a native lawn like this one offers many benefits, such as reducing the time and money spent on upkeep because indigenous plants require less water and fertilizer. They're also nice to look at, especially when you're used to having a traditional grass lawn with no variety. And many flowers attract pollinators, which benefit the ecosystem and are crucial to our food supply.
Even if you don't want to replace your whole lawn, planting a few low-maintenance grasses or low-growing plants will add depth to your outdoor space and can even help with flooding during storms.
To find which native plants are right for your zone, enter your ZIP code in either the National Wildlife Federation Native Plant Finder or Audubon Native Plants Database. You can even search by the number of butterflies and birds they support in your area, if you're interested in bringing more wildlife to your garden.
"Looks fantastic!" one person said.
"I just love seeing these photos, thank you so much!" another shared. "Your garden has heart."
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