How to Beautify Your Lake Front Property

How can you beautify your lake front property and protect one of our most beautiful natural resources in Walworth County, our lakes?

As a manager of lakefront properties as well as an avid boater on the lakes in Southern Wisconsin, I have seen numerous beautification projects around the lake. This has included hardscape projects as well has plantings.

As a resident of Walworth County and lake enthusiast, I for one, support any effort to continue to maintain one of God’s most beautiful creations, our lakes.

One way a lakefront owner can do to support healthy and clean lakes is to plant a shoreline buffer. Here is an interesting article from Delavan-lake.org that could help you decide on some projects that you may want to consider.

Owning lakefront property can be one of the most rewarding experiences in a person’s life. It can also be one of the most frustrating experiences. There are many issues related to owning lakefront property that even experienced homeowners do not know how to deal with. Some of these problems; erosion of the shoreline, loss of leisure time because of lawn maintenance, or having 25 Canada Geese take up residence on your shoreline making it unusable, are all common complaints. There is, however, a very easy and fairly inexpensive answer that will help solve all of problems mentioned above. A shoreline garden, filled with native grasses, wildflowers, trees and shrubs will help protect your shoreline from erosion, take less time and money for maintenance, protect the lake from contaminated storm water runoff and deter Canada Geese! Since most lakeshore landowners are extremely interested in protecting the water quality of their lake and their property value, a shoreline garden can be a small investment with a big payoff. As you begin planning your native shoreline garden, you may wish to consider enhancing the benefits of your shoreline garden by extending it out into the shallow water area. Native near-shore aquatic plants, will help protect your shoreline by dissipating wave energy, stabilize sediments and create important wildlife habitat. Many people ask why we always suggest native plants for a shoreline garden. There are actually several reasons. Native plants evolved in Wisconsin and therefore are more likely to survive the extreme weather conditions in Wisconsin. The extensive root system of native plants will strengthen and stabilize your soil, which will help protect it from erosion. Native plants also provide important food and habitat for birds, amphibians and insects.

For the entire article visit A Homeowners Guide to Native Shoreline Gardens