It’s not every day you find a colony of little frogs while going about your gardening business. But that’s exactly what a happy Redditor discovered, dropping a pic in the r/gardening subreddit to show the little frogs off.
“Oh My. Goodness. You are so lucky!” was one of many excited responses, enjoying the beauty of nature and its little surprises.
Photo Credit: Reddit
Though the type of frog isn’t listed, these look like little grass frogs, the tiniest species of frog in North America, with adults only reaching 0.5-0.75 inches in length.
This little gathering is known as an “army” or a “colony” of frogs. The background plant is basil, and while basil is indigenous to parts of Africa and Asia, native plants are a huge magnet for frogs and other amphibians of all kinds.
The reason is simple: Native plants draw in pollinators and a variety of wildlife, like non-venomous garter snakes, spotted salamanders, eastern newts, and more, all of which contribute to natural pest control. Pollinators also help protect our food supply.
Native planting is one of the best ways to lure pollinators, amphibians, and reptiles, generating a massive food web. Not to mention the wildlife observation opportunities.
For this and many other reasons, upgrading to natural lawns or purchasing native plants specifically is growing in popularity. According to FloraCulture International, the growth is so exponential that producers can’t supply consumers fast enough.
Traditional, expensive monoculture lawns are giving way to natural landscapes — a plethora of native plants that bring to the table reduced water needs (and lower water bills), along with lower maintenance necessities and a boost to local ecosystems.
Rewilding a lawn with native species isn’t difficult either, since native plants tend to thrive in their own, natural environments, expanding rapidly and staving off invasive plant species.
No one in this subreddit was complaining about a potential surplus of frogs: “This has lifted my mood so much, thank you for sharing. Nature really is so lovely.”
The OP even started naming them: “We named the mama frog Leroy freckles. I have no recollection of why we named her that.”
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