Midwest Prairies - Woodland, Prairie, and Habitat Restoration in Wisconsin

Welcome to Midwest Prairies

Our mission is to design, restore and manage prairies, woodlands, and wildlife habitats in an ecologically sound manner to improve and protect the heritage and character of our natural landscape.

MIDWEST PRAIRIES LLC has been in business since 1993

Rather than mowing a lawn, you too can have a native prairie around your house.

Whether you are interested in restoring a large area to a prairie habitat or inter-seeding native forbs (flowers) and grasses into your existing landscape design, we can help you reach your goal.

LATEST NEWS & TIPS

Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) is an invasive plant that is populating roadsides and other open areas. Once established it can spread rapidly. When the juice from this plant comes in contact with bare skin that is then exposed to ultraviolet rays from sunlight, it can cause blistering "burns." Avoid contact with plant leaves (juices) exuded from broken or cut plant parts.

Control methods: Wear protective clothing, cut roots just below ground level with a shovel just before plant flowers. Carefully spot-treat basal rosettes with Escort or Roundup. Note that Roundup kills everything so be careful not to over spray. For large areas mow before the plant sets seed.

FIREBREAKS -- If you are planning to do a prescribed burn in 2011, be sure you are mowing your firebreaks this summer.

Those of you that are already on our fall and spring burn schedule know that your firebreaks must be in order prior to your scheduled burn.

What is a firebreak? The firebreak is either a green area surrounding the burn area that has been mowed several times, road or driveway, plowed farm field or a mineral break (tilled ground) that is at least 3' wide. The width of a firebreak depends on varying circumstances.

If you are doing your own burning, make sure any permits that are required for your area have been secured and that a written burn plan is submitted, if applicable. If you have never burned before, you should participate in educating yourself first and working with an experienced company that does this for a living. Make sure that whoever you hire to do your burn is insured.

NATIVE SEEDING:
We can do your native seed installation with our Tye No-Till Drill or whirly seeder. The drill is commonly used for spring seeding and the whirly seeder for a frost seeding. Call early to get on our seeding schedule.

Native plants offer our insects and wildlife valuable food and cover!

Plants that are native to the Midwestern U.S. are among the easiest plants to grow and are sure to draw the attention of neighbors and wildlife alike. Planting the flowers and grasses that inhabited this area historically offers many advantages. These plants, of our prairies and woodlands, have thrived through thousands of years in Wisconsin; through bitter cold winters and frequent summer droughts. There isn’t a stronger or more adapted plant to our local conditions.

Native plants offer nectar and seeds that attract scores of songbirds, hummingbirds, and butterflies. These plants are extremely easy to grow. They are perennial, long-lived, and require very little maintenance. So…go ahead and plant Wisconsin Native Plants either in a prairie garden or inter-plant within an existing landscape. The wildlife thank you.

There are numerous advantages to creating or restoring a prairie landscape.
Attract a diverse array of birds, butterflies and wildlife
A sea of brilliant colors from spring to fall
Cost effective – no chemicals, fertilizers, watering, or weeding
Much hardier and requires less maintenance than flowers purchased at the store
All perennial plants…they don’t require planting every year

We can carefully select the plants that would thrive on your specific soil and moisture regime.

SHELTER BELT - Make a shelter belt for your wildlife. This shelter belt started out as young seedlings. It is now four years old. Cardinals showed up for the first time this spring.