One homeowner's yard became a dreamlike meadow full of life when they decided to put their lawnmower away.
They shared photos of the outcome in an anti-lawn subreddit. "My backyard in the spring," they said happily. "I guess some would call it weedy."
They made a couple more dry remarks about the "weeds," which were actually gorgeous wildflowers. A series of 14 photos showed a variety of blossoms, as well as a thriving population of bees and butterflies plus a lizard.
"My 'weeds,'" they said in the caption of a wide shot showing their meadow. On a closeup, they added, "Little tiny flowers form almost a carpet."
The original poster had trouble identifying the flowers they liked most. "Wish I knew what these were; would like to find some seeds for them," they said on a photo of small, pale purple flowers growing in clusters. On a photo of a pink flower with long red tendrils, they said, "Another mystery flower. It almost looks like a tiny little orchid."
Commenters identified the flowers as plains coreopsis and prairie verbena.
Like many before them, this Redditor discovered the incredible wealth of native plants just waiting to spring from their soil. Other homeowners have experienced similar transformations when they stopped mowing and gave the existing seeds in their soil a chance to sprout, or when they planted native flowers.
Not only are these native meadows low-maintenance, but they also dramatically lower owners' water bills and invite pollinators to the neighborhood.
"This is so lovely. Did it grow like this naturally?" one commenter asked.
"It does; the yard is a double lot and the previous owners divided it in half," the original poster replied. "They landscaped the inside part, but just left the outside to do its thing. I kept it mowed down the first year we lived here, but stopped when I noticed all the flowers popping up. Now my favorite part of spring is waiting for all the wildflowers to bloom."
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