It’s incredibly rewarding to see the fruits of our labor, and it’s even more thrilling to receive compliments for it.
One gardener shared some before-and-after photos with the Reddit community r/NativePlantGardening, showing off an incredible year of growth.
Photo Credit: Reddit
Photo Credit: Reddit
They built a gorgeous native garden around a little free library in their neighborhood. The before photo shows a sparse bed surrounded by lovely stone edging. Inside the garden, viewers can see the starts of several plants all surrounding a cute shelving unit for books and other resources for their neighbors.
The after photo shows the same garden bed, but this time, after a year, the plants are lush and have spread over the entire area.
In a couple of spots, the plants are even on the verge of spreading beyond the edges of the rocks. Even with so much robust growth, the little free library is still front and center and fully visible.
Planting a community garden can be an incredible way to support the people around you, while also improving your mental health and diet.
In addition to the health benefits, native gardens provide valuable habitat for your local fauna and support biodiversity.
Native plants benefit the ecosystem, providing food and shelter for bugs, birds, and mammals. What’s more, they support the building of nests, and in the winter, some insects will stay warm in the stems of dead flowers.
Even a small garden, like the one pictured here, can support a ton of wildlife. If the Redditor ever wanted to expand and create a community food garden, they could provide food for their neighbors as well.
Redditors were impressed with these efforts.
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One person said, “It looks great.”
“Love this,” wrote someone else. “Keep growing your circles of good work. The more people we can bring onboard, the better for the environment and nature.” Another commenter added, “Absolutely beautiful!”
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