Homeowner shares ‘absolutely stunning’ before-and-after photos of their lawn transformation: ‘You’ve done a great job’
One Redditor who decided to embrace the anti-lawn lifestyle showed off incredible pictures of their yard’s transformation after only one year.
More and more homeowners are trading out their lawns for alternatives like drought-resistant native plants or stone landscaping. These options are low-maintenance, and they lower your utility bill because they require less water. They’re even good for wildlife, including pollinators — not to mention they’re gorgeous and full of character!
Companies like Yardzen can make this process simple. However, many homeowners who enjoy gardening have created their own designs, just like this Redditor.
In the post, the user shared a “before” photo of an ordinary lawn with a concrete path running through it. Another diagonal path was outlined in spray paint, but the hard work of removing the grass was yet to begin.
As the original poster explained in a comment, they used a sod cutter to take out the grass. “I then took the cut chunks and flipped them over to expose the roots and solarized for a few days,” they said. “I then piled them up and used the sod strips as the filler for my berms.”
With the dried-out sod, they built up small hills for plants, leaving the diagonal path clear. They then added irrigation, mulch, and a wide variety of plants, including hummingbird sage, Indian mallow, and cobweb thistle, as they explained in a comment.
“This design really embraced easy to grow and maintain plants,” the poster said. In another comment, they added, “We had three primary sources: Calscape.org, the ‘recommended plant list’ from our water company, and our own research done by poking our noses into people’s yards talking to business owners about their plants.”
The result could be seen in the “after” photo from just one year later. In that short time, the drought-hardy plants showed unbelievable growth, with several already 2 to 3 feet high. Colorful blossoms appeared everywhere, and along the diagonal path, stepping stones were surrounded by lush ground cover.
“First of all, this is absolutely stunning!!!” said one commenter, adding that this type intentional and well-cared-for design was their favorite no-lawn look.
“Ecological and still beautiful,” another user said. “This one feels ‘done right’ to me.”
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