One homeowner recently shared photos demonstrating why more green isn't necessarily better.
In the subreddit r/gardening, the Redditor detailed how their "neighbor's invasives are invading" and posted a series of images showing an abundance of English ivy and kudzu slowly creeping through a chain-link fence, up some trees, and over the ground.
"How do I even begin to control this?" they inquired.
"I burned the fence line under the kudzu and mowed it out of my yard. Pulling rhizomes up as I find them. The ivy is coming in from all sides," they added in a comment.
"Kudzu is banned in some states. Look up its legal status where you are," one person advised. "It will take you reporting it if that's the case; the homeowner is then required to remove it."
Plants are an important part of regulating global temperatures, with one grown tree able to soak up around 48 pounds of carbon pollution annually, according to the Arbor Day Foundation.
However, growing species in the wrong places can do more harm than good.
Kudzu, for example, can quickly overrun everything it comes in contact with, preventing trees and pollinator-friendly native plants from getting the sunlight they need to survive. It is also notoriously hard to get rid of.
As detailed by The Nature Conservancy, this can create "cascading effects throughout an ecosystem," reducing biodiversity and even leading to extinctions.
English ivy, an invasive species like kudzu, comes with similar issues.
Both plants can also cause dangerous damage to buildings.
Some gardeners have used herbicides to kill troublesome kudzu vines, but unfortunately, that also comes with an environmental cost, as toxic chemicals in the treatment can contaminate the surrounding area.
Both types of vines can be removed with effort, though.
"The only real legal solution is to manually tear it up on your own, and regularly maintain the borders of your property. Reaching into their property can put you into a world of hurt," one person wrote. "If you have a good relationship with them, you might talk out a compromise."
"I battle English ivy from two adjacent yards. It involves cutting or pulling it every three weeks or so to keep it from getting established in my yard," a commenter added.
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