Buying a new home often involves surprises — particularly in the yard — and a user on the r/NativePlantGardening subreddit made incredible progress after finding something unwanted lurking in theirs.
The original poster shared two images of an area in their new yard, explaining what the photos depicted.
"After almost two weeks of moving river rock, lots and lots of landscaping fabric, and ground rubber, I'm ready to amend the clay for a hospitable environment for my new bed," they began, describing what they'd done with their space between the two snaps.
"This will be my native garden with milkweed, New England aster, coneflower, columbine, and goldenrod," the OP continued, detailing their plans to begin rewilding their yard.
At the end of the post, they explained that they planned to remove the "monkey grass in another project because it's gotten itself embedded with the rock and the fountain liner."
Monkey grass goes by a few names, including lilyturf and liriope, and it's considered invasive in parts of the U.S. — particularly the OP's state of Tennessee.
The Northern Virginia Bird Alliance advised against planting liriope varieties in favor of native plants. "There are several varieties of Liriope … and while Liriope spicata's running habit is particularly difficult to control, both are increasingly showing up in wild spaces, crowding out native plants that wildlife depend on," the group warned.
Invasive plants aren't always easy to identify, and some are even sold at popular chain stores. By contrast, native plants tend to be well suited to their regions, saving homeowners time and money while requiring far less in the way of resources and maintenance.
The liriope immediately caught the eye of one commenter, who appeared to mistake its presence for part of the OP's plan to upgrade to a natural lawn. "Yeah, [liriope] was a bad idea. I used sallow sedge, and there's plenty of other native sedges and rushes that would work well. The plan for the rest sounds good though," they remarked.
"It was here when we moved in along with other bad ideas like nandina, holly trees, and day lilies," the OP clarified in response. "I'm tackling projects one at a time."
TCD Picks » Upway Spotlight
💡Upway makes it easy to find discounts of up to 60% on premium e-bike brands
|
If you were to switch from a grass lawn to a more natural option, which of these factors would be your primary motivation?
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Making it look better 🌱 Not long after that, they returned to the thread with an impressive update on their yard and the liriope problem.
"Thank you heavy rain! I was able to remove the monkey grass. My native bed is finished: coneflower, baptisia, false lupine, New England aster, columbine, swamp milkweed, fragrant sumac, blue eye grass, and goldenrod," the OP reported.
"The only one that isn't native to my county is native to the county next to me, so I'll take the win!" they added.
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
