• Home Home

Homeowner shares how a simple lawn change saved them countless hours of mowing: 'Not sure what happened…'

"That's a solid effort."

Drought-tolerant lawn

Photo Credit: u/rdhigham/ Reddit

Are you looking to get rid of grass to make your yard more drought-tolerant or just more interesting? In a popular post, a Redditor shows off how they transformed their lawn in a few photos — and it's a stunning, sustainable makeover.

In the thread, the Redditor shares a series of photos that display the before-and-after stages of their big and once-grassy lawn. 

drought-tolerant
Photo Credit: Reddit
drought-tolerant
Photo Credit: Reddit

Initially, there was one big tree and a lot of grass, but by the end of the photo series, half of the lawn is covered in mulch with "native Hebe, Ake Ake, a couple of citrus and some other random plants," according to the Redditor's caption. There are new plants dotting the landscape, with the Redditor noting that they have plans to do more. 

According to the Redditor, half of the mulched area is covered in carpet and half in weed mat. 

"Anywhere the weed mat was laid the grass burnt off the next day, it was so hot. Not sure what happened under the carpet. I didn't spray it or dig it up though," they wrote.

Mulching your yard and/or planting native and drought-tolerant plants instead of grass can help cut down on your water bill in a big way — by as much as 20% to 30% or more compared to a grassy yard. Water is a limited resource, so reducing its use is important. 

Plus, a grassy yard doesn't offer much benefit to local wildlife. An interesting landscape of native plants can help support an abundance of native wildlife, including critical pollinators. And watching a yard full of busy pollinators is a lot more fun than watching your grass turn brown and dry out during peak summer.

Overall, Redditors were impressed.

"That's a solid effort," wrote one Redditor. "Well done." 

"Looking good," wrote another.

And another Redditor was enthusiastic in their support. "Adios lawn," they wrote. "Hello, biodiversity!"

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more, waste less, and help yourself while helping the planet.

Cool Divider