Homeowners across the United States are getting in on the native plants trend, upgrading their boring grass lawns and getting plaudits from the Internet in the process.
The latest is a New Jersey-based Redditor who posted before-and-after photos of their in-progress lawn project to the r/NativePlantGardening subreddit.
"First picture is the BEFORE with boring overgrown shrubs," they wrote. "Second/third pictures are a makeover of maybe ~1/3 of the bed. I plan on getting rid of more of the old shrubs next year and replacing with something else native."
They went on to list the types of plants they introduced to the more-beautiful-by-the-minute yard, including golden ragwort, shrubby St. John's wort, woodland stonecrop, great blue lobelia, cardinal flower, foxglove beardtongue, and scarlet bee balm.
Native plants are the superior choice to uniform grass lawns for a variety of reasons. Not only are grass lawns expensive and time-consuming to maintain, but they are also harmful to the environment, often requiring toxic pesticides and herbicides as well as excessive watering. And they discourage ecological diversity, taking food away from insects (which are essential to all life on Earth) and other wildlife.
Native plant lawns, conversely, are exactly what insects need to thrive. And don't worry: "Insects" doesn't just mean annoying mosquitoes. Plus, if mosquitoes are a problem, you can always just plant mosquito-repellent plants to deter them, with no pesticides necessary.
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The New Jersey Redditor's fellow native plant-lovers were highly impressed by the progress of their yard.
"Looks so much more interesting! One of the biggest joys I've experienced moving from a boring and weedy lawn to natives is watching the evolution," wrote one commenter.
"Fantastic transformation! I love how you've used the varied heights and foliage to create interest," wrote another.
"Beautifully done! A major improvement. Looks great for a year 2. Mine is year 2 as well and a lot messier!" wrote a third.
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