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.