Wing Haven Gardens and Bird Sanctuary is two historic gardens located on Ridgewood Avenue in Charlotte, North Carolina operated by the 501 Wing Haven Foundation of Charlotte, NC. Wing Haven Gardens comprises the Wing Haven Garden & Bird Sanctuary at 248 Ridgewood Avenue and The Elizabeth Lawrence House and Garden located at 348 Ridgewood Avenue. Wing Haven offers environmental education programs, events, and lectures annually for children and adults. The gardens are open to the public Wednesday thourgh Saturday, year-round.
History
The original garden was begun in 1927 by Elizabeth and Edwin Clarkson around their house. 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, 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. There have been 150 species of birds sighted at the property over the years. Elizabeth Clarkson was founder of the Mecklenburg County Audubon Society. In 2008, Wing Haven purchased the Elizabeth LawrenceHouse and Garden at 348 Ridgewood Avenue. The Elizabeth Lawrence House and Garden is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, in the Smithsonian Institute's Archives of American Gardens, as 1 of only 15 Preservation Partner Gardens of the Garden Conservancy, and is also designated as a historic site by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Landmarks Commission. Today, with the long-ago loss of Elizabeth Lawrence's Raleigh garden and the demolition in 2004 of the house in North Carolina's capital which was her home from 1916 to 1948, her house and garden at 348 Ridgewood Avenue is the single property associated with her long and important career as a plantswoman and writer. Her home and garden from 1949 to 1984 holds significance in the history of Charlotte, the state, and the nation.
The Grounds
The garden plan 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 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 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's Pin Chastetree 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 acess to gardens. A fee for admission is required for the public. The gardens are open Wednesday through Saturday, year-round.
