People are increasingly turning away from the traditional grass lawns that have long been seen as mandatory, and turning instead to native plants and other alternatives. And that switch can have many benefits, as one gardener recently found.
"My Newest NoLawn Buddy," the gardener wrote, sharing their find with the r/NoLawns subreddit.
The accompanying video shows a tiny and adorable lizard — likely a green anole — exploring the space and briefly jumping onto the gardener's foot before scurrying away.
And it was no mistake that the creature chose to visit this particular yard. "I am one of the few houses in my neighborhood that doesn't spray chemicals, and I have a ton of visitors!" the poster wrote. "From rabbits to snakes and everything in between. Could not be more thrilled to have a happy, healthy ecosystem right in my own yard."
They also mentioned that they have received visits from turtles, bees (carpenter, bumble, and honey), and various types of birds.
As the poster alluded to, traditional grass lawns come with many drawbacks, such discouraging ecological diversity, and involving constant and expensive upkeep, often including toxic chemicals (which eventually make their way into water sources) and highly polluting gas-powered yard equipment.
But with native lawns, not only are you encouraging the type of plant life that wants to be growing in your climate while avoiding several types of common pollution, but one of the best parts is that you never know exactly what natural wonders will simply appear.
Another native plant-grower recently shared to Reddit some pictures of enormous, vibrant green and blue caterpillars that had appeared on some of their plants, writing, "This is exactly the reason I like to let things grow. I would have missed out on this if I had a traditional lawn."
As for the green anole, the other members of the r/NoLawns subreddit loved to see it.
"Beautiful! How nice to have visitors," wrote one commenter.
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