Homeownership is dizzyingly expensive as it is, but the wallet-eating nightmare one new homeowner ran into is even more harrowing than that.
The Reddit user reached out to the gardening experts on r/NativePlantGardening for some advice in a post titled "everything in my yard is invasive."
"Bought a house with a lovely big yard last year. This is my first summer getting into gardening. It's hard to not get discouraged now that I realize almost nothing is native, and in fact most things growing (both intentionally and volunteer) are invasive," the caption reads. "Even if I'm able to get rid of these things, which I likely won't be able to entirely, it will cost a fortune to replace everything with natives/non invasives."
"Where do I start? How do I not get discouraged?" the OP asks.
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Invasive plants are an incredibly common problem for homeowners. They can disrupt the delicate ecosystem in your yard and steal resources from native plants. Some invasive plants, like bamboo, can proliferate at eye-popping rates and refuse to be tamed.
But while the OP's problem is not a rare one, it's not necessarily common for everything in a yard to be invasive.
There's no real way around the hard and potentially expensive work this Redditor will need to do, but there is one thing that can help: native plants.
Rewilding your property or upgrading to a native lawn can make it more difficult for invasive plants to take over. This is because native plants are adapted to the environment and provide tough competition for those invasive plants.
Native lawns require less time, money, and energy to maintain while also providing a strong ecosystem for pollinators.
Commenters to the OP's post offered some thorough advice, as well as encouragement:
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If you were to switch from a grass lawn to a more natural option, which of these factors would be your primary motivation?
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Making it look better 🌱 "Attack one small area at a time," one suggests. "You need to leave the wildlife some habitat. Even if that's (temporarily) invasive plants."
"Please remember there is no deadline on making progress, and perfection is not the goal," another offers. "If you're 5% better off next year that creates new possibilities."
"Hey, you can always start with potted natives," another says.
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