Homeowner inquiring about replicating nightmare landscaping mistake is met with warnings: 'Can go straight to hell'

Inheriting a house is an "as is" endowment, often requiring the new homeowner to address refurbishment and personal aesthetics. In the case of one Redditor, their post stirred memories among commenters of how landscape choices can come with a side of misfortune. 

"As someone who inherited a house where previous owners put landscape fabric under everything, landscape fabric can go straight to hell," one agitated commenter said in response to the original poster's question concerning whether landscape fabric was involved in a rock-lined side slope they hoped to recreate.

Landscape fabric (of the premium variety) is a supposed convenience, suppressing weed growth. However, it's notorious for weakening the surrounding soil health. And far too often, it fails to work as advertised, turning the lawn into a dreary, mostly barren landscape and making it very difficult to promote the health and growth of flowers or vegetables.

The stuff isn't good for the environment, either, both on a local and broader scale. This is especially true with cheap plastic-based landscape fabric, which can shed microplastics into the soil and are often treated with toxic chemicals. 

In the case of one Reddit commenter, the fabric disintegrated into thousands of tiny pieces, clinging to everything, including the plant roots.

If you want to upgrade to a natural lawn, existing landscape fabric may be an irritating obstacle to overcome. You'll need a rake and a lot of time. Fresh topsoil and perhaps some compost will aid in recovery. 

Fortunately, there are options other than landscape fabric that gardeners can work with, such as organic burlaps or mulch, as another Redditor suggested, writing: "A good thick mulch bed works too, a fabric is much better but eventually will fail and also impedes soil health."

As for the OP's question, it can be difficult to keep rocks in place on a slope without a stabilizer, so rewilding their yard or naturalizing it may be the better option to create an aesthetically pleasing lawn and avoid the pitfalls of landscape fabric. 

In addition to being low-maintenance, native yards support local ecosystems, including pollinators that are crucial to our food supply. They also help prevent erosion and don't need as much water — an expense the OP may have been trying to reduce. 

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.

"Previous owners of my house did some really nice rock landscaping the summer before we bought it. … Unfortunately they didn't put down any barrier," another commenter shared. "It's taken me over 5 years to dig out all of that rock, screen the dirt out of it, store them on my patio, redo the slope because the rain eroded it."

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