Tour Map

Norse Prairie Homestead is in its third season of a complete garden make-over featuring over 200 Michigan native species of flowers, grasses, sedges, ferns, and shrubs, 21 dwarf fruit trees, vegetables in raised beds, and berry bushes. Gardens include a butterfly-shaped rain garden, a pollinator prairie, a woodland understory, a shade savanna, & 4 rain barrels. Discover radiant roses, sun-loving silphiums, and towering tallgrasses. 

Resource Fair: Detroit Bird Alliance and Floraculture Gardens

Oldest, lawnless property in Oak Park? My Grandmother, Master Gardener, Jeanne Vogt, established this estate between 1986-88. She instilled and inspired in our family a love, fascination and reverence for the natural world. I am honored to have had the opportunity to purchase the property and steward her sanctuary since 2020, transforming it into a space that meets and evolves with the dynamic needs of two young amazing Autistic individuals!  

Resource Fair: Clinton River Watershed Council

Drawing on experience gardening, farming, and vermicomposting in Miami, this DIY garden by a Marine veteran is a showcase of what is possible with borrowed land, recycled containers, and a generous spirit.  Earth Collective is about harnessing the community's energy and determination and reimagining a neglected backyard into a neighborhood hub growing produce, supporting pollinators, and expanding possibility. Come explore, play, and connect! 

Resource Fair: Michigan DNR - Stepping Stones

The Book Beat Literary Garden is a specially-curated selection of books for children and adults on gardening, natural landscape design, plants and pollinators, the environment, and stewarding the planet. Free plant and seed giveaway and a discount for all garden tour attendees on the day of the tour. Support your local independent bookstore, discover a new title to inspire and inform you as a gardener, and bring home a plant to grow or seeds to sow! 

Resource Fair: Wild Ones - North Oakland

Eight years ago I bought my home and began to garden as a complete amateur.  I have done a few  projects that I'm sure you will enjoy. Welcome to my place of peace enjoy my oasis

TJ’s secret garden has been a work in progress for the past 5 years. It began with a focus on “out with the old and in with the new”!  The traditional yard and shrubbery was gutted and that allowed for a blank canvas that has allowed me to make it my own. A simple but eye catching array of hanging baskets, 2 rose bushes, 5 hostas, a Japanese maple and a brand new hydrangea bush have taken the curb appeal from boring to beautiful! 

Welcome to Geranium Grove: From BK to the Park 🌺 This story started in Brooklyn, fell in love with a native Oak Parker, and has blossomed here in Oak Park, MI. At Geranium Grove, we don’t overthink—we plant what brings peace, joy, and bold color to our days. The front yard is full of vibrant red geraniums, planted with love and a little edge—just like the borough they represent. Find cascades of petunias, a proud rose bush, and a bougainvillea.  With love, from the borough to the backyard.

A mix of beautiful flowers and shrubs in the front yard and in the backyard you’ll have a vegetable garden along with a few other flowers and herbs. 

 Beautification Award winner for 2024 

After moving and leaving a decade-old garden, the focus here is regeneration. These are the roots of a new beginning: perennials saved from my original garden/small garden business plus a couple of plants grown from wintersown seeds on an apartment balcony. I've also been "renting" two beds in a friend's garden for a seed garden for my seed library. If you are starting out or starting over, it's never too late to blossom (again) and this garden is for you! Come visit and let's grow together! 

 A south-facing perennial garden in its early years, which we hope to eventually expand. Included are a few leafy shrubs alongside many types of flowers, which bloom at different points in the season and attract plenty of bee, butterfly, and bird activity. Three flowering trees are planted in the yard (Magnolia and two types of Cherry). We are new gardeners with two little kids so our garden is a bit of a group experiment. We have big dreams for our outdoor space. Please excuse any untidiness! 

The Perennial Millennial is a new pursuit.  Step into a layered, shade-loving sanctuary in the front yard, where soft mounds of hostas, coral bells, astilbes, and boxwood hedges nestle beneath a crabapple tree. Hydrangeas and an azalea bush add seasonal bursts of color and texture. In the backyard, you’ll find a budding wonderland where native blooms invite butterflies and bees. Come for inspiration, curiosity, and a garden that’s growing into its own story.

Resource Fair: Rochester Pollinators

Caitlin's Cottage Gardens: Venture down Hart street beneath the shady canopy of old Locust trees to find my front shade garden: a mix of asters, old roses, iris, myrtle and bellflower with new, native and ornamental plantings that butterflies love. For the past 3 years, I have been cultivating beauty while abstaining from weed and lawn sprays, leading to a garden that is wild but alive and buzzing.

I have a big garden, I build new things every year. This year a new plot and a recycled baby bed. 

Resource Fair: MSU Extension - Master Gardeners 

My garden has evolved over the years as plants are relocated, added, or removed.  In the front yard you will find: Big Daddy (blue) Hosta, mini Hostas, Coneflower, Bluebell, round Yew, Braided Hibiscus, Astilbe, Ageratum border, Red Salvia; Stella d' Oro daylily, Sagae Hosta, Globe Arborvitae, and a Yew border. Back Yard: French Lavender, Shasta Daisy, Coreopsis, Dinner Plate Hibiscus, Purple Salvia, Rose bushes, Black-eyed Susan, Sedum, Lilies, annuals, potted vegetables, Pineapple Sage.

Humble Gifts and Curious Joy is my first dive into the world of garden creation and plant tending- we have been slowly expanding and actualizing an ever changing vision of what this place could be, what it wants to be, and how to express a playful and creative voice in a world very much in need of beauty, joy, and kindness. The majority of the plants have been gifted over the past six years before I knew the difference between perennial and annual, native and invasive, or shade or sun loving...

Rain barrels, organic veggies, pollinator flowers 

This garden embodies classic Oak Park elegance. Discover carefully maintained and artfully curated annuals, perrenials, bushes, and sod that burst with color, pride, and beauty! Beautification Award Winner!

This space was created for us to have a peaceful and serene place to go without leaving the comforts of our home. There are multiple species of flowers and plants which gives us a sense of calmness. This space will give you a sense of relaxation and tranquility! 

We have as a mixture of perennials and annuals grown in part sun and part shade. We strive to have blooms for pollinators throughout the summer and are adding more native plants each year. There are two main water features: a small pond with plants and polliwogs/fish and a standing fountain in a backyard garden. These provide water for wildlife and soothing water sounds. Two small raised gardens provide herbs and strawberries. Creating, maintaining and enjoying our garden is our relaxation. 

This pollinator friendly garden also provides shelter for community cats and other visitors. Native plants and a hodgepodge of delights replace the standard grass lawn. A little free library offers books, birdbaths abound and rain barrels capture water for the plants. A rose trellis by the side of the porch provides fragrant blooms throughout the summer. 

Our garden journey began as newlyweds in our first home in May 2021. 8-foot weeds and a rusted fence were transformed into vibrant perennials, colorful flower boxes, a bird bath, a rain barrel, and a fairy garden. The heart of our garden is the veggie and fruit beds: berries and root veggies, leafy greens, herbs, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, corn, etc. This garden is a reflection of our faith and we lovingly dedicate it to my Nana Linda.

Resource Fair: Oak Park Public Library

The My Place Butterfly Garden was started as a regular flower garden. However, after hearing about the disappearing bee and butterfly populations we made it a point to grow just Michigan wildflowers to attract the local bugs. We are an official monarch waystation. Later on, we added more garden beds to grow vegetables for our members. Most of our members are on government assistance, so this helps sublimate their diets with healthy foods.

My Place - Center for Wellness

I converted parts of my grass lawn that was devoid of all life to native vegetation. Now, it’s full of biodiversity. It’s less to mow and attracts insects and animals. It’s a win-win. There is one rain barrel to water the vegetable garden. 

The yard has wild strawberries, bee balm, couple of shrubs, milkweed, other native vegetation, and a small peach tree.

There is a pile of sticks for wildlife habitat, a bird bath, and a pile of logs for food for wood-eating insects.

We purchased our new home two years ago and have been working on it ever since. As an arborist, I collect plants from clients who no longer want them and give them a new home in my garden! It has a lot of growing to do, but I have been incredibly happy with the woody plants I have installed. I am passionate about plants that can provide food sources for myself as well as wildlife. Moving forward, I intend on installing berry producing shrubs and trees as well as native herbaceous perennials. 

I don't really have a big garden plan in mind. The yard was simple and clean when I bought the house. I slowly started to make it mine and since I was broke for a while, I begged borrowed and received stuff to fill out spots with color. The neighbors new fences have made some changes so we'll see what's next.

First-time homeowners with a burgeoning native plant obsession! We moved in June of 2024, and have since converted existing garden beds, neglected areas, and a good portion of lawn into fully native, prairie-style plantings. We’ve been lucky enough to get some first-year blooms this spring! We’ve also got herbs, fruits, and veggies, a hellstrip planting, and a beautiful Redbud in the front yard.  We'll continue to nurture our Michigan flora and fauna! 

Resource Fair: Oakland Conservation District

This garden is a testament to the DIY'ers of the world. It started in 2022 at the wishes of my dying father-in-law, Pops. He was an accomplished contractor and community advocate, and spent his life building things for other people. He bought the first round of plants and I got to work making his dreams come true. Sadly he passed later that year, but I have kept the garden going. I know Pops would love where the garden has gone, and I am excited to see how it evolves. 

This is the 8th summer tending this yard, it began with nothing but grass. I have planted over 50 shrubs and trees, along with hundreds of perennials, many rescued from properties that were to be torn down. Slowly it has transformed into a natural woodland, perennial area, shade area, raised veg garden, and new pond area which has created a thriving ecosystem. 

Resource Fair: Huron-Clinton Metroparks

Eccentric, eclectic and soothing. 

Our space features landscape and hardscape elements that help contribute to the ambiance of our gardens. Aside from the raised bed area in front of the house, the yard was almost a blank canvas when we moved in late 2011. Over the years we have developed our gardens with the intention of providing a tranquil place to relax. Featuring hardy perennials, natives and annuals; we enjoy sharing our space with the birds and pollinators. Our garden is never complete!

Resource Fair: RainSmart Rebates

Our garden is a mashup of native perennials, annuals, and exotics.

The front yard is a fledgling woodland, featuring 400 native Michigan plant species and a rain garden. In the backyard, there is a circle garden and a sidelot garden featuring all native Michigan meadow plants and bushes. We have some sculptures installed and while our beds may not be the tidiest, we do love the chaos of our prairie. A small 'Asian-inspired' garden can be found in the back yard behind a willow tree. We also have an American Elm in our backyard!

Resource Fair: Friends of the Rouge

Cottage-style garden with multiple ponds bursting with colors, water, fairy gardens, fish, and playful garden art sited on a unique and original Oak Park homestead house built in the 1920s. A neighborhood fixture for generations! 

Resource Fair: Oakland County Parks

8901 Oak Park Blvd, known today as “Grass Action,” is the Homestead of my stained glass studio where I work and offer classes! I’ll have a crafty area for adults and kids with some desserts and beverages. 90% of the gardens were created by the former owner; I do my best to cut, upkeep, move plants around. There are Hydrangea, Wisteria, Iris, lilies, tulips daffodils, some rose bushes, and a few other perennials mixed with some random annuals for guests’ delight!

Resource Fair: Seasonal Sundries

My Mother-in-Law started teaching me gardening and helped me start the gardens at our house!  We have a butterfly bush, tons of dill and Milkweed and see many Monarchs in every stage all summer long.  We work hard to maintain the large garden area but also allow for the Milkweeds to expand to help out the butterflies!  Always a work in progress but we love it!

Kit House Retreat: Please visit the front and right side in the front. Also, go into the back where you can see a little bit of homegrown, container gardens galore, a stretch of cottage rustic bliss, a shade garden addition, and some works in progress. Something is always changing. Enjoy!

We started with a few rounds of hostas and they quickly exploded into hundreds! Our plan has always been to have low maintenance plants that look nice, bring some color every year and allow the wildlife to flourish.  

In April 2013, this former hoarder house had zero plants. I dug out cement, toys, and beer cans to find gorgeous untouched soil. I traded sourdough for plants and scattered seeds. I overseeded with clover, only to have a neighbor’s negligent lawn company set me back in 2020. Recently lost a pine in front, pivoting from full shade to full sun garden. I have a raised bed on the hellstrip that offers pick-as-you-walk-by strawberries, tomatoes, and wildflowers for anyone, especially the kiddos.

The Perennial Potager is a blend of cottage and potager with colorful, edible perennials and seasonal produce. In the raised beds you’ll find heirloom lettuces, radish, herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, & peppers. Eventually, we envision more walking paths, secluded sitting areas, chickens, etc. This garden reflects its creator, who strives for beauty and productivity - with the aesthetics beating out practicality, but just barely. Join us, won’t you?

Resource Fair: Oak Park Public Library

We grow herbs for use in Pie Sci, Forest Bakery and Hansen's Hall. It is ideal for us to have fresh ingredients and to use space that would otherwise be just grass. 

Pie Sci is offering a special Garden Tour pizza today!