In 1927, Elizabeth and Edwin Clarkson began planting their Myers Park garden for one audience: the birds. Wing Haven, now a beloved Charlotte sanctuary, wraps their brick-walled haven in nearly a century of growth — formal garden rooms, herb and rose plantings, fountains and boxwood paths where more than 80 bird species have been recorded.
The Clarksons’ bird plaques and poems line the paths; the Elizabeth Lawrence Garden next door honors one of America’s great garden writers; and the SEED Wildlife & Children’s Garden teaches young naturalists how a garden becomes a habitat. Docent tours read the garden like a book Elizabeth wrote in soil.
Wing Haven is Charlotte’s quietest miracle — proof that a garden planted for others (even feathered others) outlives and out-loves its makers.
