Events

Join us for a joyful celebration of the season at the Milwaukee Public Market's very first Festival of Flowers, taking place Saturday, May 3 from 11am to 3pm at Riverwalk Commons, right across from the Milwaukee Public Market.

Wild Ones National Board Secretary Jermey Rappaport will present on how people can help support a healthy planet by transitioning away from traditional lawns and gardens to more sustainable alternatives featuring native plants. 

This free, family-friendly event is bursting with color, fragrance, and fun! Explore a vibrant flower market featuring locally grown blooms and botanicals perfect for brightening your home or garden. Enjoy live music from local artists as you wander, shop, and relax along the riverfront.

Bring the whole family- there’s something for everyone! From interactive activities for kids to garden-inspired crafts, the Festival of Flowers is designed to delight visitors of all ages. Grown-ups can savor seasonal beverages, while everyone can dig into a variety of tasty eats from local food vendors.

Whether you're a plant enthusiast, music lover, or just looking for a fresh way to spend your Saturday, the Festival of Flowers is the perfect spring outing.

Karen Marzonie, Director of Gardens & Grounds at the Ford Fair Lane Estate with speak on her groups efforts on restoring the native gardens and  grounds at the Ford Fair Lane Estate, in an effort to restore some of Jens Jenson's original designs.

The mission of the WOWC Seeds to Community program is to create connections with people and nature through the process of growing native plants from seed. The program is driven through community engagement in collection, germination and cultivation workshops.

WOWC Seeds to Community events require planning and community engagement. Join each third Thursday of the month to be a part of the year-round community initiative of growing native plants from seed.

This May meeting will include discussion on:

Up-Potting Workshop Planning

Seed Collection Opportunities

Monthly Seed Collection Watch Communications

Usage of Seedlings

Program Donations

Members will receive invite and Zoom link via email. Reach out to Derek Shaffer or [email protected] with questions.

Bring your jugs from our winter sowing event in February, or seedlings from your own winter sowing project to be a part of our new Seeds to Community program! 

Winter sowing can produce a large quantity of seedlings, and here is an opportunity to separate them out into individual pots or trays, and trade species with other participants! Beyond what was sowed in the last workshop, there will be additional stratified seeds from WOWC that will be ready to plant in trays as well as seeds not requiring cold stratification. We would love for you to go home with the plants you would like for your space! 

For those that are ambitious or looking to make an even bigger impact, we are hoping to have additional seedlings to be used by WOWC for upcoming planting projects.

Limited materials will be provided, please bring gently used seed trays, small individual plant pots, or other suitable planting containers you may have.

If you are interested in volunteering at this event, please let us know at [email protected]

The mission of the WOWC Seeds to Community program is to create connections with people and nature through the process of growing native plants from seed. The program is driven through community engagement in collection, germination and cultivation workshops.

WOWC Seeds to Community events require planning and community engagement. Join each third Thursday of the month to be a part of the year-round community initiative of growing native plants from seed.

This June meeting will include discussion on:

Up-Potting Workshop Recap

Seed Collection Opportunities

Monthly Seed Collection Watch Communications

Usage of Seedlings

Program Donations

Members will receive invite and Zoom link via email. Reach out to Derek Shaffer or [email protected] with questions.

We are partnering with our friends at Michiganense Natives to provide you an opportunity to purchase native plants for your garden at the Belle Isle Nature Center! If you're not sure what to buy or how to get started, we'll be here to help and give recommendations. Come see us! 

A portion of sales will benefit WOWC and our efforts to continue providing native plant resources and programming to our local residents and communities.

Learn more about the Belle Isle Nature Center here.

While admission to the Belle Isle Nature Center is free, a Recreation Passport is required to enter Belle Isle Park

Karen Marzonie, Director of Gardens & Grounds at the Ford Fair Lane Estates will be conducting an evening tour of the estate's gardens, paying a particular attention to the native plants that were part of the original plans by  landscape designer Jens Jenson.

A $5.00 donation to the Ford Fair Lane Estate Gardens & Grounds is suggested.

The mission of the WOWC Seeds to Community program is to create connections with people and nature through the process of growing native plants from seed. The program is driven through community engagement in collection, germination and cultivation workshops.

WOWC Seeds to Community events require planning and community engagement. Join each third Thursday of the month to be a part of the year-round community initiative of growing native plants from seed.

This July meeting will include discussion on:

Seed Collection Opportunities

Monthly Seed Collection Watch Communications

Seed Cleaning Event Planning

Collaborative Efforts with S2C Washtenaw

Program Donations

Members will receive invite and Zoom link via email. Reach out to Derek Shaffer or [email protected] with questions.

River Bend Gardens was established in July 2017, and formally founded by my wife and I in January 2019 as a private botanical garden, aviary, and retreat for our family of five children.

The property was selected for its unique combination of natural features, and is located in Washtenaw County, 15 miles Southwest of Ann Arbor, in the Village of Manchester.  The gardens are situated on 65 acres with a half mile of frontage on the River Raisin, and adjacent to the South and West with the Leonard Preserve, a 259-acre property owned by Washtenaw County’s Natural Areas Preservation, and The Nature Conservancy.

There are twelve gardens that make-up River Bend, with nine natural plant communities, and several glacial features in the landscape from kames, an out-wash plain, to a floodplain that includes a Buttonbush depression.  In addition to the River Raisin, the property includes a 4 acre pond, two brooks, and over 30 natural springs.

Hiking River Bend Gardens offers our guest an opportunity to view a gardener's pragmatic effort at native plant preservation and restoration.  Wayne is happy to share the mechanics of the preservation work and prairie restoration with considerations to methods, successes, and failures.  

River Bend Gardens offers our guests a short walk (1/4 mile) to the prairie and meeting location, or guests may elect a longer hike (3 miles) through the garden on the trails to the meeting location.  While the trails are established, they are not completely groomed, the garden is not ADA compliant, nor is there a restroom present on the property.

Guests who chose the three mile hike on the Garden Trail, presented in yellow on the attached trail map, should arrive at 9:00am at the East Entrance Garden.  You can use 115 Mound Street Manchester, MI 48158 as the GPS address.  There is a horseshoe drive where you can pull-in for parking, or on the shoulder of Mound Street on the north side of the street facing west.

Guests who prefer a short walk to the prairie should arrive at 10:30am at the West Entrance Garden.  You can use 328 River Bend Manchester, MI 48158 as the GPS address.  There is adequate parking off the street on garden property.

In either case there will be someone from the River Bend family there to guide you to the meeting location.  After a discussion and Q&A, the guests will be free to walk the trails and experience the gardens at their own pace.

The mission of the WOWC Seeds to Community program is to create connections with people and nature through the process of growing native plants from seed. The program is driven through community engagement in collection, germination and cultivation workshops.

WOWC Seeds to Community events require planning and community engagement. Join each third Thursday of the month to be a part of the year-round community initiative of growing native plants from seed.

This August meeting will include discussion on:

Seed Collection Opportunities

Monthly Seed Collection Watch Communications

Seed Cleaning Event Planning

Collaborative Efforts with S2C Washtenaw

Program Donations

Members will receive invite and Zoom link via email. Reach out to Derek Shaffer or [email protected] with questions.

Details coming soon! 

The mission of the WOWC Seeds to Community program is to create connections with people and nature through the process of growing native plants from seed. The program is driven through community engagement in collection, germination and cultivation workshops.

WOWC Seeds to Community events require planning and community engagement. Join each third Thursday of the month to be a part of the year-round community initiative of growing native plants from seed.

This September meeting will include discussion on:

Seed Collection Opportunities

Monthly Seed Collection Watch Communications

Seed Cleaning Event Planning

Seed Storage Planning

Collaborative Efforts with S2C Washtenaw

Program Donations

Members will receive invite and Zoom link via email. Reach out to Derek Shaffer or [email protected] with questions.

Details coming soon! 

The mission of the WOWC Seeds to Community program is to create connections with people and nature through the process of growing native plants from seed. The program is driven through community engagement in collection, germination and cultivation workshops.

WOWC Seeds to Community events require planning and community engagement. Join each third Thursday of the month to be a part of the year-round community initiative of growing native plants from seed.

This October meeting will include discussion on:

Seed Cleaning Event Planning

Collaborative Efforts with S2C Washtenaw

Seed Storage Planning

Program Donations

Members will receive invite and Zoom link via email. Reach out to Derek Shaffer or [email protected] with questions.

Details coming soon! 

The mission of the WOWC Seeds to Community program is to create connections with people and nature through the process of growing native plants from seed. The program is driven through community engagement in collection, germination and cultivation workshops.

WOWC Seeds to Community events require planning and community engagement. Join each third Thursday of the month to be a part of the year-round community initiative of growing native plants from seed.

This November meeting will include discussion on:

Winter Sowing Workshop Planning

Seed Data Updates

Collaborative Efforts with S2C Washtenaw

Program Donations

Members will receive invite and Zoom link via email. Reach out to Derek Shaffer or [email protected] with questions.

The mission of the WOWC Seeds to Community program is to create connections with people and nature through the process of growing native plants from seed. The program is driven through community engagement in collection, germination and cultivation workshops.

WOWC Seeds to Community events require planning and community engagement. Join each third Thursday of the month to be a part of the year-round community initiative of growing native plants from seed.

This December meeting will include discussion on:

Winter Sowing Workshop Planning

Seed Data Updates

Program Donations

Members will receive invite and Zoom link via email. Reach out to Derek Shaffer or [email protected] with questions.