The design for the mid 1980s project were drawn up by Landscape Architect Stephen Christy, who went on to fame and fortune with Lake Forest Open Lands Association. The construction of the upper prairie with its raised timber structure and widely spaces steps provided a graceful transition between the beach and the nasty concrete retaining wall of the newly installed beach road.
Our upper prairie is not quite mature with increasing diversity provided by successive plantings by LBOLA volunteers and Lake Bluff Middle School students on Outdoor Education projects.
The lower sand prairie was planted at the turn of the century based on a plant list inspired by the sand prairie at Illinois Beach State Park in Zion. It includes the midwest’s only native cactus – prickly pear cactus. In a wonderful new development, Marram Grass, once the dominant vegetation on Lake Michigan sand dunes, is escaping across Lake Bluff beach!
The Lake Bluff Beach is a central focus for the Lake Bluff community. It is here where the Yacht club holds their events and races next to our Beach Plantings. If you didn’t know Lake Bluff has native Cactus, stop by and see the plants.
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