Wayne Oliver is a lifelong gardener, Michigan Conservation Steward, and Michigan Master Naturalist. He was gifted his first native perennial in 1989, which began a steady conversion from gardening with non-native ornamentals to embracing influences like William Robinson’s, The Wild Garden, published in 1870, who challenged the Victorian gardening paradigm of employing delicate non-native annuals in structured, controlled gardens, and advocated for a naturalistic style employing native perennials.
Wayne also aspires to reflect the style of Landscape Architect Beatrix Ferrand in his own garden, who is known for designing garden rooms, outdoor spaces that transition from one to another where she highlights a combination of genus in each.
Wayne began his efforts with River Bend Gardens in July 2017 and has been working to create an Edwardian style garden employing native plants at his private botanical garden River Bend Gardens located in the Village of Manchester in Washtenaw County Michigan.
TSN Conference 2025:
- January 24th, 2025 (Friday) // 1:50 pm – 2:50 pm // Red Cedar // “Prairie Restoration Recipe”