Wing Haven Gardens and Bird Sanctuary
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Wing Haven Gardens and Bird Sanctuary (3 acres) are non-profit gardens and a bird sanctuary located at 248 Ridgewood Avenue, Charlotte, North Carolina. They are open several hours a week, year-round; admission is free.
The garden was begun in 1927 by Elizabeth and Edwin Clarkson around their house. In 1970 they donated it to the Wing Haven Foundation. The Clarksons remained in the home until 1988.
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 ornamental trees, shrubs, and flowers. The garden also contains an English sundial from 1705, various terra cotta pieces, a plaque with a poem by Japanese pacifist and reformer Toyohiko Kagawa, and a statue of Saint Fiacre, patron saint of gardeners.
In 2000, the National Register of Big Trees recognized the garden's chastetree (Vitex agnus-castus) as the largest within the United States.
