My Prairie Restoration Journey
Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Auditorium, 1800 N Dixboro Rd, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105 Map
Public Welcome Family Friendly Free Event Chapter Meeting Program/Speaker Presentation Wheelchair Accessible Public Restroom Drinking Fountains
Presenter: John Blair
John Blair will bring you along on his journey to both restore his land to original native prairie and create magnificent pollinator gardens on his rural property in Brooklyn. He will also cover the restoration of his wooded savanna and his efforts to bring back to life three natural ponds that had been buried by farmers decades ago. Through John’s beautiful photos, you will get to see this wonderful transformation from hayfields back to lush native prairie habitat, much like what was originally there two hundred years ago!
NOTE #1: Explore John's prairie via his online Flickr photo album:
NOTE #2: John graciously hosted a tour of his property for Ann Arbor Wild Ones members on July 27, 2024.
Biography for John Blair
When John Blair retired from his automotive engineering job, he knew he would need something interesting to do with his time. He found it when he attended a presentation in the winter of 2012 by butterfly expert Brenda Dziedzic on making a butterfly garden with native plants as the focal point. John got busy that spring creating his own butterfly garden at his Westland home; over the next seven summers, it grew to over 5,000 square feet in size with 130 species of native plants and 38 different species of butterfly visitors. In 2019, having filled all his available gardening space, John moved with his wife, Sheri, to a new home on a nine-acre property in rural Brooklyn, Michigan. There, he is restoring large tracts of land to original prairie with native plants and creating a gigantic butterfly and pollinator habitat! John enjoys giving his inspirational talks and educational tours of his restoration to help others get started with their own pollinator habitats using native plants, which is something that means very much to him!
John’s garden has appeared in “Fine Gardening,” “Michigan Gardener,” the “Detroit Free Press,” and the Garden Answer YouTube channel. He has also authored articles for “Michigan Gardener” on creating pollinator gardens. Over the last ten years, John has given his “How to Make a Butterfly Garden” and “Prairie Restoration Journey” talks to county Master Gardener organizations, Michigan State University, Greenfield Village, numerous Michigan garden clubs, church groups, and Nature clubs throughout southeast and mid-Michigan.