Many Ypsilanti residents don't know that the tangle of shrubs, saplings, and wildflowers on the south side of the city's Prospect Park was once the location of a showcase crescent-shaped pond called Luna Lake and, decades later, a native plant garden. The garden has seen changes over the years, becoming especially neglected during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. But area residents and neighborhood association leaders are hoping to rehabilitate the native plant garden, starting with a work day on Oct. 6.

The fascinating history of Prospect Park

Prospect Park is one of Ypsilanti's oldest parks, established in 1891 after the city's cemetery was moved from the property to the current Highland Cemetery. A 9.5-acre park was created in the spot at the corner of Prospect and Cross Streets instead. 

"We want to keep the history going," says Ypsilanti resident Mackenzi Rettie, who has lived near Prospect Park for about 20 years. "This is the most-used park in the city."

In the early years, the park's crescent lake had water pumped to it, lasting at least through the 1920s. Locals would ride paddle boats in the lake. But over the next three decades, the area fell into disrepair and became a hazard, says neighborhood resident Rachel Blistein.
Doug CoombeMackenzi Rettie.
"The fountain broke in the 1950s, and that's kind of when everything went derelict," Blistein says.

Mary Delcamp, a 22-year neighborhood resident and long-time member of the Historic East Side Neighborhood Association (HESNA), remembers her kids bringing home tadpoles from the pond every spring in the early 1980s.

Delcamp says a HESNA survey found that many area residents wanted the lake back. But the lake's clay liner had failed and it just wasn't safe. 
Doug CoombeThe former Luna Lake location in Ypsilanti's Prospect Park.
"It became clear we couldn't afford to restore it to its former splendor," Delcamp says. "It was kind of a tadpole pool."

In the 1980s, the city did a major renovation of the whole park, including the lake area, but it continued to deteriorate. Additionally, the Luna Lake site is at a lower level than most of the park and often has standing water on it.

From 2007 to 2008, area neighborhood associations, spearheaded by HESNA, decided it was time to reclaim the garden space. This time, they decided to transform the former Luna Lake into a native plant garden. 

Updating the native plant garden

Blistein currently makes a living owning a salon and line of hair products, but her previous career was as a landscape architect. The plans for a native plant garden were already forming when she joined HESNA. She ended up drawing up a plan for the garden, which went into a proposal that won a grant from the Wildflower Association of Michigan. 

"Sometimes, the concern with native plant gardens is that a lot of them look unkempt, or they look like weeds," Blistein says. "I really wanted it to look more intentional and include things that would make people recognize that someone planted this here."

Her crescent-shaped design called for a mix of showy and practical native plants from New England aster and false indigo to drooping sedge, Canadian columbine, woodland phlox, and black-eyed Susans. The lowest point is planted with species that can withstand being flooded, while others at the edges are woodland edge plants. But they're all cold-tolerant species that can thrive in clay soil and remain low-maintenance over the years, with no need for spraying against pests.
Doug CoombeRachel Blistein.
During the Oct. 6 work day, neighborhood residents aim to curate an intentional-looking garden with what Blistein describes as "all-seasons interest," restore paths through the area, and teach local residents about native plants. The city of Ypsilanti will provide mulch for the project.

Blistein says a lot of the bones of the 2008 garden are still there but overgrown. 

"The good news is that there are tons of the original native plants, and a lot of them are still healthy," she says. "But we need lots of hands. This is going to take a long time."
Doug CoombeRachel Blistein and Mackenzi Rettie at the former Luna Lake location in Ypsilanti's Prospect Park.
There's a civic-pride aspect to the project, but Blistein says it's also a tool for teaching about the importance of native plants.

"I hope we're giving people ideas, like, 'That's a cool plant. I want to put that in my garden,'" she says.

Anyone interested in weeding, mulching, and restoring the Luna Lake garden to its former glory can join the event 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6. Some tools will be provided, but participants are encouraged to bring their own gloves, shovels, rakes, and wheelbarrows if possible. More details are available here.

Sarah Rigg is a freelance writer and editor in Ypsilanti Township and the project manager of On the Ground Ypsilanti. She joined Concentrate as a news writer in early 2017 and is an occasional contributor to other Issue Media Group publications. You may reach her at sarahrigg1@gmail.com.

All photos by Doug Coombe.