Homeowner stuns with before-and-after photos of landscaping transformation: 'I can't believe we actually did this'

One older gardener won accolades online with the incredible transformation of her yard, which she documented with photos.

"Behold, the fruits of my pandemic project," she said in her post on r/Landscaping. "Pros did the hardscape; the rest was mostly me. I am a chaos gardener."

They included a "before" picture of an ordinary suburban home with a featureless grass lawn. The lawn is yellowing and patchy — far from a prize-winning yard.

The "after" photos are like night and day. The yard has been heavily embellished with flowers, bushes, and even young trees. A low fence borders mulch beds with attractive boulders as accents. A new, curved walkway of gray pavers winds through the yard, and there are a few visible glimpses of a gravel bed that has replaced some of the grass.

The transformation looks beautiful — so much so that it could even increase the value of the house. "A friend of mine is a real estate agent," said the original poster in a comment. "She came over recently, looked around, and said, 'When it comes time to sell this place, if you don't do it in the summer, I'm going to smack you.'"

But there are other benefits, too, as the original poster explained. "This is a water-smart pollinator creation. Sometimes I stand out there and get verklempt watching the bees, butterflies, hummingbirds(!), goldfinches, and sphinx moths. … We also have a lot of rabbits. They ate $100 worth of Plant Select winecups, but I'm not mad."

She was incredibly proud of their achievement. "Just yesterday my husband and I were standing out there and I said, 'Holy crap. I can't believe we actually did this,'" she wrote.

And the beautiful yard is there to stay. As the original poster put it, "I'm a 63-year-old woman who never wants to landscape another thing because this felt like…a lot."

Commenters were in love with the transformation.

What's the hardest thing about taking care of your yard?

Mowing the lawn

Controlling weeds

Keeping pests at bay

I don't have a yard

Click your choice to see results and speak your mind

"Major improvement," said one user. "You added so much curb appeal, it looks like a more expensive house now."

"Gosh, this is lovely!" said another commenter. "Hope you love it as much as your neighbors certainly do."

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