A Canadian gardener was surprised to see their landlord had made some landscaping decisions about the front yard without any input from them. The user shared some photos and their incredulity to r/OntarioGardeners.

“Landlord hired landscapers to dig up the front yard and replace the green with landscape fabric and mulch. No warning, no collaboration,” they wrote. “They started tearing the herbs out of the garden box (seen behind the giant yew bush) but we caught them in time and they agreed to leaving the herbs.”

"No warning, no collaboration."Photo Credit: Reddit

The original poster lamented the loss of a vibrant yard full of variety and life. They had planted tulips, irises, a peony, daisies, and coreopsis there.

Besides being a feast for the eyes, a wild yard like this has loads of benefits. For starters, native plants are a great home for pollinators. Pesticide use and increased heat have sent pollinator numbers into a nosedive, so it’s important that they’re supported whenever possible. They do prop up our food production system after all. 

The original poster brings up the fully correct point that the landscaping fabric won’t stop plants from growing through to the surface. 

Gardeners across the board decry landscaping fabric as ineffective and polluting. Plants grow up and through the fabric anyway, causing it to be a matted mess of roots and plastic whenever a homeowner decides to remove it. Until then, the fabric suffocates the soil and blocks nutrients from reaching plants on top of the barrier. 









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The Reddit community was utterly flabbergasted that the homeowner would make such a poor landscaping decision, let alone not work with the resident on the issue. 

“That is so sad, and very small-minded on the part of your landlord! What a shame,” said one commenter. “I really feel for you.” 
“They’re looking to sell and are looking for cost-effective upgrades for curb appeal,” suggested another user.

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