Events

River Bend Gardens was established by Wayne & Julie Oliver in January 2019 as a private botanical garden, aviary, and retreat for their family.

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 are 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 outwash 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 guests an opportunity to view a gardener's pragmatic effort at native plant preservation and restoration.  Wayne is happy to share the mechanics of preservation work and prairie restoration, including considerations of methods, successes, and failures.  

River Bend Gardens offers guests a short walk (1/4 mile) to the prairie and meeting location, or 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, and there is no restroom present on the property.

Guests who choose the three-mile hike on the Garden Trail, should arrive at 9:00 am 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 10:30 am 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 the garden property.

In either case, someone from the River Bend family will be 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.

Members can look forward to Member-to-Member Garden Yard Tours throughout the growing season!

This month's event will feature two yards in Plymouth Township.

 Member-to-Member (M2M) yard visits (aka Show Me-Tell Me) allow members to share experiences, ideas, and challenges with maintaining native plants in our landscapes. These tours help members & invited guests to learn about different natives and enjoy conversations with other native plant enthusiasts.

The location for each visit will be communicated to all members prior to the visit.

Members can look forward to Member-to-Member Garden Yard Tours throughout the growing season!

This month's second event will feature two yards in Grosse Pointe. 

 Member-to-Member (M2M) yard visits (aka Show Me-Tell Me) allow members to share experiences, ideas, and challenges with maintaining native plants in our landscapes. These tours help members & invited guests to learn about different natives and enjoy conversations with other native plant enthusiasts.

The location for each visit will be communicated to all members prior to the visit.

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.

Members can look forward to Member-to-Member Garden Yard Tours throughout the growing season!

This month's event will feature two yards in Livonia.

 Member-to-Member (M2M) yard visits (aka Show Me-Tell Me) allow members to share experiences, ideas, and challenges with maintaining native plants in our landscapes. These tours help members & invited guests to learn about different natives and enjoy conversations with other native plant enthusiasts.

The location for each visit will be communicated to all members prior to the visit.

Discover how ecological landscaping with native plants can make your landscape more resilient and help address the climate crisis. This webinar will highlight practical, evidence-based approaches to designing and maintaining landscapes that build resilience to climate change and support native biodiversity. Join Wild Ones for a free webinar, “EcoBeneficial Landscape Strategies for the Climate Crisis,” featuring environmental horticulturalist and ecological landscape designer Kim Eierman.

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.