Chapter Events

Garden Walkabouts are informal tours of home gardens and landscapes managed by members. Come and go as you wish.

Address TBA via email to members.

Event is for Wild Ones members only and their guests.

Marty describes her property as “a patch of wilderness hidden deep inside the city of Grand Rapids.” When she and her husband bought the 2.5 acre vacant lot in 1988 it was a ragged lawn and a wooded ravine clogged with invasive species and neighborhood trash. Over the decades they’ve added hundreds of native trees, shrubs, no-mow grass, perennials and ferns. In 2018 they purchased 4.5 acres of adjacent property. Since then, Marty has added an oak savanna, an emergent woodland, a rain garden and bioswale, a shady “hidden garden” and colorful beds of wildflowers. "I love the idea that our land is healthier and more diverse than it has been in 150 years,”  Marty says. “All along the way, I’ve relied on Wild Ones and Kent Conservation District for native plants and great advice. I hope you visit my work-in-progress."