Gardener shares adorable photos after discovering surprising yard visitor: 'This was unexpected'

People have all kinds of goals when creating a garden, such as attracting pollinators, building a backyard oasis, or growing vegetables. Though it may not have been their goal, one person had an unexpected guest make an appearance in their garden.

In a post on r/NativePlantGardening, a Redditor shared a couple of photos of a cute baby deer that had taken up temporary residence in their garden. It has the telltale and adorable white spots of a baby deer and seems to be small enough to be practically newborn.

"Those are beautiful photos." — Photo Credit: Reddit

"Thought I'd get pollinators with this garden, but this was unexpected," the original poster wrote. "So glad mama felt safe to leave her here."

One photo provides a bird's-eye view of the young animal and shows how it is tucked up against a raised bed. In the other, the deer is looking at the camera while curled up among a lovely assemblage of native plants.

The OP listed several of the plants: "Joe [Pye] weed, zigzag goldenrod, heart leaf aster, and blue flag iris among others in here."

Gardens featuring native plants can attract a wide range of wildlife, from bees and hummingbirds to turkeys and, yes, even deer. Gardening can be beneficial to local flora and fauna, supporting the ecosystem and making more land hospitable to them.

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Organizations such as Homegrown National Park are helping educate people about habitat degradation and encouraging them to plant native plants. It hopes more biodiversity can be preserved across the United States through grassroots efforts. With more beneficial plants, more wildlife will hopefully thrive.

Redditors were smitten with this cute visitor.

One person made a groan-worthy pun, writing, "Awww a bamb-bee."

Someone else pointed out that deer may help the garden after all: "I guess technically they probably do pollinate some stuff just walking through flower beds and shaking the flowers."