Homeowner shares incredible before-and-after photos of backyard transformation: 'Stunning work'

One Texas homeowner showed the internet how they turned their backyard from a wasteland of dead grass into a lush and thriving garden in just a couple of months.

They posted about their experience in the r/gardening subreddit, including photos from before and after. "Exciting to see the progress of my yard garden project!" they said. "Before pictures are from early March, after are from May 22."

The "before" image shows a mostly empty backyard before the project. Some of the yard has been dug up for garden beds, but most of the area is filled with dry, yellow grass.

The "after" image is lush green from wall to wall, with a bed of grass in the center and taller plants around the edges, including sunflowers and other blossoms. A flagstone path leads across one corner of the garden, while trellises stand at the back.

"I really wanted to reduce my lawn area and plant as many natives as I could, plus veggies and herbs," the original poster said. "The sunflowers are intended to hopefully be a shield for some of our intense western sun, but also sunflowers are great for me and the critters! While not quite as native as maybe I'd want, it's been really amazing to see insect life start to gather around my yard as things start to put out flowers."

It's understandable that the OP would want to rewild with native plants. These species are cheap to maintain because they need very little water besides natural rainfall. They are also good for the environment and attract beneficial pollinators.

Unfortunately, the OP struggled with finding the right plants to attract the butterflies they wanted. "My biggest frustration is accidentally planting cursed invasive tropical milkweed that our native plant nursery sold!" they said. "I didn't know what this evil version looked like and of course there was only one type available and it was probably just labeled 'milkweed.' Ugh."

Nevertheless, the OP managed to create a gorgeous oasis that commenters loved.

"Stunning work," said one user.

"You must be so proud! It looks amazing! A total glow up," said another commenter.

If you have a lawn, what aspect of it do you value most? The way it looks 🤩 The way my family uses it 👪 It's enjoyable to mow 😎 It's cheap to maintain 💰 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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