Wing Haven Gardens and Bird Sanctuary

Wing Haven Gardens and Bird Sanctuary is a garden and habitat for birds and wildlife located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It includes the Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden which is the site of a garden writer’s living laboratory. The site also includes the SEED Wildlife & Children’s Gardens, which provides hands-on exploratory learning and a natural habitat for local wildlife. Wing Haven also offers more than 40 programs and special events each year.

Wing Haven
TypeBird sanctuary
Location248 Ridgewood Avenue
Charlotte, NC, United States
Coordinates35.1790°N 80.8409°W / 35.1790; -80.8409
Area2.97 acres (1.20 ha)
Created1927 (1927)
Operated byWing Haven Foundation
OpenAll year
Websitewinghavengardens.org

History

Wing Haven Gardens & Bird Sanctuary was begun in 1927 by Elizabeth and Edwin Clarkson. In 1971, they donated the garden and house to the Wing Haven Foundation. The Clarksons remained in the home until 1988. Wing Haven's original Clarkson Garden is the Charlotte area's only designated garden and bird sanctuary listed as a local historic landmark by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmark Commission,[1] certified as Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation, and named an eBird hotspot by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.[2][3] There have been over 150 species of birds sighted at the property over the years.

In 2008, Wing Haven purchased the Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden at 348 Ridgewood Avenue. Noted author and landscape architect Elizabeth Lawrence lived in the home when she moved to Charlotte. The house and garden is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, in the Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Gardens, and as one of only 15 Preservation Partner Gardens of the Garden Conservancy.[4][5]

In 2018, Wing Haven added the Student Environmental Education and Discovery (SEED) Wildlife Garden.

The Grounds

The garden plan for Wing Haven Garden & Bird Sanctuary resembles a Cross of Lorraine with its long path crossed by two shorter, perpendicular paths, and the house sited between the shorter paths. It contains a number of pools and fountains and is well-planted with a wide variety of native and ornamental trees, shrubs, and flowers. The garden also contains an English sundial from 1705, various terra cotta pieces, dozens of plaques including one with a poem by Japanese pacifist and reformer Toyohiko Kagawa, statuary including one of Saint Fiacre, patron saint of gardeners.

Trees

Wing Haven harbors several champion trees. In 2013, Wing Haven's magnificent Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) at a diameter of 67 in., height of 130 ft. and a spread of 50 ft. became a Treasure Tree and Jewel of the Queen's Crown as awarded by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, who started the formal Treasure Tree program in Mecklenburg County. The Elizabeth Lawrence Garden's Japanese Stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia) is one of the original trees of the Treasure Tree Program and is the largest recorded Japanese stewartia in Mecklenburg County. In 2000, Wing Haven Garden & Bird Sanctuary's Pin Chastetree (Vitex agnus-castus) was nominated as the nation's largest specimen of its species growing in the United States only to be surpassed in 2009 by a specimen in Texas.

Membership

Wing Haven offers memberships which grant free access to gardens. A fee for admission is required for the public. The gardens are open Wednesday through Saturday, year-round.

References
  1. Survey and Research Report On The Wing Haven Gardens and Bird Sanctuary
  2. "Survey and Research Report on The Wing Haven Gardens and Bird Sanctuary" (PDF). Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  3. "Wing Haven Gardens and Bird Sanctuary". eBird. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  4. Davyd Foard Hood (January 2006). "Elizabeth Lawrence House and Garden" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  5. "SURVEY AND RESEARCH REPORT on the Elizabeth Lawrence House and Garden" (PDF). Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
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