Pasture to Perennials Mukwonago, WI

This project is a longterm stewardship effort to cultivate a new build site in a subdivision built upon a former dairy farm.  

As a former pasture and hayfield the property is filled with quack grass. To combat it, the planting began entirely as perennials and small woodies to leave no doubt what the less than desirable grass was. Easy identification allowed for simple straightforward stewardship and surprisingly effective elimination of the pesky forage crop. The same technique is followed for all new beds and bed expansions. After several years of stewardship, once we are confident the quack grass has been eliminated in the center of the bed, ornamental grasses are introduced.

The property backs up to unmanaged county land that borders the fox river. Canadian goldenrod and some milkweed are a few of the natives that persist in the former pasture land otherwise dominated by cool season grasses. The back border is planted with free-seeding and spreading native species that are gradually being encouraged to colonize the natural area.