One Utah homeowner told Reddit they had taken advantage of a local program designed to promote alternatives to traditional grass lawns.
While lawns are often expected in modern yards, they're usually not the best use of space. They produce nothing for either homeowners or wildlife; they need incredible amounts of water and work to maintain; and they can sometimes pollute nearby water sources with runoff full of fertilizer and pesticide.
According to this Redditor, they wanted to try something different and found an organization that would help them achieve that. "In some Utah cities there is a program called Localscapes that helps people fund a transition to reduced or no lawn yards," they explained. "Here's mine a year after installation."
The photos they shared show incredible progress. Their garden now filled the yard from edge to edge without a blade of grass. Lines of artistic stepping stones led along wood chip paths between the brick-lined beds of flourishing plants. At one side of the yard, a lush clover lawn carpeted the ground, perfect for sitting or lying on. Flowers peppered the beds, natural wood trellises corralled tomato plants, and a young pine tree pushed upward in its spot near the fence.
"Includes mulch paths, mosaic stepping stones, tomatoes, flowers, shrubs, trees, raspberries, currant bushes, native plants, nativars, and xeric plants," the original poster said in a comment. The variety of plants created a multipurpose garden that produced food, decorated the space, and supported local wildlife and pollinators.
"This is incredible!" said one commenter. "Do you mind sharing how much something like this cost?"
"Our biggest expense was the drip system and several cubic yards of compost," said the original poster. "Total it cost about $1,000."
"My city doesn't do Localscapes, so I'm on my own," said one user before asking for tips. "Which plants have been the easiest to take care of?"
"The ones that have done best in the heat and little shade are lavender, rosemary, penstemon, sage, yarrow, daylily, lambs ear, globemallow, clover, and milkweed," said the original poster, also listing the nurseries they liked to use.
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