Need Idea On three acres that I do not want to mow anymore.

[mikgall1]

I have about six acres to mow. I would like to cut down to only about 3 acres. I am wanting to ant wild flowers on the remaining 3 acres furthest from house. I live in Michigan and the area has plenty of water and sunlight.

Can someone give me any Ideas. Thanks Mike

[Fastforward]

Hey Mike,

If you have a BIG budget there are some great no-mow grass options but it would take a very FAT piggy bank to go that route.

If this were my property I would map out 1/4 to 1/3 acre sections in a random, puzzle-like pattern then begin planting one section at a time as funds are available. I would choose one low-growing, wide-spreading shrub variety per section... with the goal that adjoining sections have contracting features so your land begins to have the look of a patchwork crazy-quilt.

Find a local wholesale/retail nursery that propagates their own nursery stock. I live in a tiny mountain town in Washington and miraculously there's a nearby, family-owned business where I can buy shrub starts in tiny pots. These are priced at $2.25 to $3.75 each. You can also use pony packs of lavender, sage and other perennial herbs at Wall Mart-type stores to do affordable mass-planting. The other thing I do is to buy bare root starts on-line at u-bid.com.

An easier idea would be to buy tree seedlings and plant groves of trees in some of the sections.

I wish I could offer a cheap and easy idea but I don't think there is one if you want your property to continue to look as beautiful as it does now. Good luck and happy gardening. ~Janet Drake