A happy gardener in Maryland was eager to share a picture of recent visitors. The original poster caught a glimpse of two hungry caterpillars munching on their swamp milkweed.
For the OP, the sight of caterpillars felt like a small milestone. Since they had recently started their native-plant garden, seeing the insects was a sign of the project’s success.
Photo Credit: Reddit
“I thought about writing some sappy ‘why we do this’ kind of post because seeing them I really do feel that way,” wrote the OP. “It’s my first year planting natives and it’s just super cool to see.”
Redditors in the r/NativePlantGardening forum congratulated the OP on their hard work and discussed their own excitement at seeing wildlife visitors in their gardens.
“Chalk this one up as a win, OP!” replied one user. “Well done!”
“Regarding the ‘why do we do this…’ I like to think of our garden as that hot new restaurant that all the pollinators and wildlife like to visit!” added another Redditor.
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As this OP demonstrated, installing a native-plant garden supports the local ecosystem by creating food and shelter for all types of wildlife. Native plants also serve as hubs for key pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, helping to protect our food supply.
Adding native plants to your lawn isn’t just beneficial for the environment, though. It’s also a great way to save time and money on lawn maintenance. Since native plants have adapted to the local environment, they don’t require much help from fertilizers and pesticides to thrive.
In fact, after installing a native-plant lawn, you can save $225 on water and $100 on pesticides and fertilizers each year. Plus, you can ditch the gas-powered lawn mower, helping to reduce the amount of harmful planet-warming pollution entering the atmosphere.
Redditors continued to discuss the OP’s caterpillar visitors.
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“Thank you for planting natives,” wrote one user.
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