Anyone who has invested time and sweat equity into a yard makeover knows that this hard work pays off eventually.
In particular, gardeners who’ve curated native plants for their yards understand that it takes time to establish new growth — yet it often takes no time at all to significantly undo that progress.
Unfortunately, a Reddit user on r/NoLawns experienced the latter through no fault of their own, in what appeared to be an innocent error.
Photo Credit: Reddit
Photo Credit: Reddit
Photo Credit: Reddit
The original poster attached three photographs to their submission, the first two depicting an enviable, riotously colorful tangle of wildflowers.
However, the third image was jarring — a patchy, mostly bald patch of land. The title was a five-word horror story for anyone who has cultivated a natural lawn.
“Gardener got the wrong house,” it read.
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The poster explained that they woke to their partner exclaiming that someone was “cutting down” their yard. The user dressed, opened the door, and was greeted by “the last photo” and a confused stranger.
“I stood there shaking while they stared at me saying: ‘What? What’s wrong?'” they recalled. After a brief period of confusion, the plant butcherer and the resident realized that the former had unintentionally razed the wrong property.
It can take years for some plantings to become fully established, according to Martha Stewart. The original poster, dismayed at being forced back to square one, had to vent.
“Just need to commiserate with people who understand,” they lamented. “Every time I come home I want to cry. It looks even worse from the front, but I haven’t been able to get myself to take photos of it yet.”
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Most users were surprised that the original poster — whose view of the entire debacle could only be described as “maximum chill” — declined compensation offered by the company, but at least one understood.
“Since OP feels confident it was a mistake, and native plants are mostly pretty resilient, the neighborly goodwill might eventually be worth more than the financial compensation,” they reasoned.
Others were chagrined by what they saw as routine disregard for rewilded yards on the part of commercial landscapers.
“Commercial mow & blow crews are the biggest menace to any native plants in cultivation,” another user began. “I mean, even if you knew nothing about native plants…does that look like a giant weed patch with all those flowers?”
At least one other commenter shared the submitter’s laidback approach and faith in the strength of native plants.
“It looks like a shock right now, but if they were cutting rather than pulling, I wouldn’t be surprised if most of it comes back,” they surmised.
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