The first thing you need to do is a soil test to find out the pH of your soil. Blueberries like very acidic soil. If your soil is alkaline, it is unlikely that you will be able to change it to suit the blueberry plants' needs. 

Sweetfern (Comptonia peregrina) does grow in Oakland County, but it favors sandy plains and hills, especially those that used to have pine trees. Much of our soils in SE Michigan are clay, which is not good for sweetfern. If you look at page 2 of this publication, you can learn how to do the "ribbon test" to find out if you have sandy or clay soil. 

I highly recommend getting a soil test done through MSU. Say that you want to grow blueberries when you submit your soil sample. You will get results with a response to the plants you want to grow. We can help you understand the results.