‘You live life’

A Dallas homeowner proudly showed off the abundant native wildflowers growing in their yard on the r/NoLawns subreddit.

“This is the third spring of my native landscape project,” they wrote. “The Indian Deken and Primrose are doing exceptionally well, but Tall Poppy Mallow, Mexican Hat and Salvia are also starting to appear in abundance.”

Fellow native plant enthusiasts were delighted with the photos.

“Absolutely beautiful,” one person wrote.

‘So idyllic,’ agreed another.

Replacing a traditional lawn with wildflowers is not only beautiful, it is also friendlier to the wallet and healthier for the environment.

While grass requires an exorbitant amount of water to survive – about a third of an average household’s daily water use – native plants have evolved to thrive with the typical amount of rainfall in their environment. That means a lawn with native plants can reduce a homeowner’s outdoor water use to very little or none at all.

And for some homeowners, the savings don’t stop there. Many states even offer incentives and tax credits for switching to low-water lawns.

Additionally, native plants have a symbiotic relationship with local pollinators, the often overlooked creatures that quietly power our planet.

“Without pollinators, the human race and all ecosystems on Earth would not survive,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture says on its website. “Of the 1,400 crops grown around the world… that produce all our food and plant industrial products, almost 80% require animal pollination. Visits from bees and other pollinators also result in larger, tastier fruits and higher crop yields…Globally, pollination services are probably worth more than $3 trillion.”

And fortunately, the transition to a natural lawn couldn’t be easier.

In some cases, it’s as simple as spreading wildflower seeds by hand and letting them do what they do best. Other low-lift options include planting native ground covers, such as ferns, wild ginger, clover and native ornamental grasses.

Some homeowners go the route of xeriscaping, using mulch, wood chips, stone and other non-vegetable materials to landscape their gardens. And just like the garden in this post, the result is beautiful and much more vibrant and lush than traditional grass.

“This is incredible,” someone says enthusiastically. “You’re living life!!!”

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