Homeowner shares progress made toward ripping out lawn in favor of low-maintenance replacement: ‘This is exactly the way you want to do it’
More and more homeowners are moving away from traditional monoculture lawns in favor of native plants and low-maintenance grass solutions.
Even if it’s just a small plot, you have to start somewhere, and one Redditor is particularly excited to reap the many benefits.
“Last week I started replacing my lawn with native plantings,” they captioned the post, which came alongside a picture of the beginnings of their new patch.
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“I cut the turf off this little 3×10’ area and sowed it with Prairie Moon’s Beginner’s Mix, then added some Common Milkweed and Butterfly Weed. In the spring, I’ll start ‘scalping’ the rest of the lawn and planting the prairie movie eco grass mixture. It’ll be interesting to see how it goes!”
The commenters on Reddit were supportive of the decision and offered up their own tips.
“This is exactly the way you want to do it: one section at a time,” one user said. “You will be really happy to see this progress year by year.”
“Great work, hope it goes well!” said another, who advised against planting common milkweed as it ended up being more aggressive than they anticipated.
But, generally, native plants can have many benefits in an outdoor space, bringing pollinators that make for a healthy ecosystem and providing a welcome boost of color in any yard area.
Furthermore, native plants are typically more hardy in local weather conditions and require significantly less maintenance and water than a traditional monoculture lawn.
In areas where water conservation is essential, native plants and xeriscaping are great ways to have a healthy garden that is less likely to dry out and turn brown in the heat.
It’s easy to see why this Redditor was so excited to rip up their old lawn and start on a new planting project. If this small plot is successful, they might even try to expand their rewilded green space.
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