When one Redditor replaced their lawn with a variety of plants, they received a surprising message from their neighbor.
The Redditor posted about their experience on r/NoLawns, a subreddit whose users are part of the anti-lawn movement. They share tips and stories about replacing their turf grass with money- and time-saving alternatives like clover and native plants, creating incredible landscapes either by themselves or with the help of companies like Yardzen.
Unfortunately, these budget-friendly and environmentally sound yards sometimes get pushback from neighbors. That's what this Redditor was afraid of when they gave their lawn a makeover.
"We moved into a neat HOA ravine in 2020," the Redditor explained in their post. "I have converted our front lawn into native garden plantings, with clover and yarrow lawn and paths through the beds. It looks very different from every other home on the block."
According to the user, they hadn't gotten any comments in the three years since starting the project, but they were still nervous. "I had been feeling like me against the neighborhood," they said. "I assumed that everyone was being Minnesota nice and just smiling while thinking nasty things about my yard in their head."
But to their surprise, that wasn't the case with everyone. "Last week I got this nice text which meant so much to me," they said, sharing a screenshot of a message from a neighbor.
"I think the work you do in the neighborhood is awesome!" said the text. "I'd love to pick your brain about turning our back area into a pollinator garden."
The original poster quickly agreed to help with the project and even share plants from their garden. "It is exactly what I keep hoping will happen," they told Reddit. "Slow, steady acceptance and changing of yard ideals and practices."
Many commenters were enthusiastic about the situation. "This is how change happens!" wrote one excited user.
"Doing the right thing is hard. Bravo for leading by example," commented another.
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