The bees living around one particular yard in New Zealand just scored a major home upgrade with one gardener's quest to transform one area of their yard into a "bee island."
The gardener shared photos of their stunning success on the subreddit r/NoLawns. "I removed the grass with a hoe and just threw all the wild flower seeds we had mixed together into the ground," they wrote. "Really hope they will self-seed for the next year."
In photos, colorful wildflowers dot the vibrant green grasses and offer food sources to plenty of bees — what OP calls their "happy patrons."
Even without a proper hive yet, OP explained, there are "plenty of bees and bumblebees around. They especially love lavender and germander plants we have in the back yard. You can literally hear those plants buzzing all summer."
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Fellow gardeners shared in OP's enthusiasm for taking a pollinator-friendly, native-forward approach to landscaping. Many gardeners choose to go this route because incorporating mostly native plants means having to spend less money and time maintaining a yard.
And while the word "rewilded" might conjure images of overgrown fields, one Redditor shared their own little trick of making these rewilded yards look more planned: "Little [grass] paths make the 85% of our yard going wild look intentional," they wrote.
Of course, every yard will require at least a little bit of maintenance — to keep an eye out on possible invasive species, if nothing else.
One sharp-eyed gardener warned OP to look out for one such invasive flower, the common ramp, which they spotted in one photo. "That gets everywhere, currently dealing with it in some areas of my property," they wrote. "No idea where they came from but pretty easy to pull out due to their single taproot."
Fortunately, incorporating a robust mix of native species, flowers, and other noninvasive ground cover species like clover can generally keep invasives at bay. And in addition to the cost savings and the beauty, gardeners like OP can feel proud of supporting their ecosystem — and food chain — by supporting pollinators.
"I like the idea of a little bee oasis," one gardener mused.
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