COLD SPRING, NY: On Saturday, September 25th and Sunday, September 26th, six private gardens in Charlotte will open to the public through The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program.

Visitors may begin the day at Wing Haven/The Elizabeth Lawrence Garden, 248 Ridgewood Avenue, Charlotte, where descriptions and directions to each location will be provided.

The hours for the tour are 10 a.m. to 4p.m. on Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission to each private garden is $5, or $25 for all six gardens. Open Days are rain or shine, and no reservations are required. Call 1-888-842-2442, or visit www.opendaysprogram.org for more information.

A portion of the proceeds from this Open Day will be shared with The Elizabeth Lawrence Garden, a Preservation Project of The Garden Conservancy.

Highlights of the participating properties include multiple collections of Japanese maples and other shade-loving plants, birdbaths and feeders integrated into the plantings, a series of three ponds connected by streams and waterfalls, hand-cast concrete leaves that complement the blooms, tropicals such as orchids and bromeliads, and both formal and informal styles.

Two area public gardens will also be open to visitors on these dates: the Charlotte Botanical Gardens at the  University of North Carolina in Charlotte and The Mauldin Gardens at the Armstrong Mauldin House in Rock Hill, South Carolina, visit Womans Club of Rock Hill for more information.

Wing Haven: Two Gardens, One Experience 248 Ridgewood Avenue www.winghavengardens.com Start your Charlotte Open Days tour on Ridgewood Avenue with a visit to the two gardens owned and maintained by Wing Haven.  Since its creation in 1927 by Elizabeth and Edwin Clarkson, Wing Haven Gardens & Bird Sanctuary, located at 248 Ridgewood Avenue, has been a special part of Charlotte. The gardens, encompassing approximately three acres of lovely vistas, formal gardens and woodland trails, are enclosed on all sides by brick walls. Throughout, the emphasis is on plantings for birds and other wildlife, providing food, cover, and nesting sites. Plaques and statuary integrated into the garden walls and paths reflect the spirit and beauty of the garden and its creators. Visitors marvel not only at the gardens but the frequent sightings of birds and the small wildlife scampering throughout the property.

Next, stroll down to the Elizabeth Lawrence House and Garden at 348 Ridgewood Avenue.   Lawrence was already a recognized garden designer and writer when, in 1948, she moved from Raleigh to Charlotte, NC.  While her garden served as a living laboratory for her study of plants, it also provided a graceful refuge and a source of inspiration for her writings. Through daily correspondence, Lawrence acquired plants, bulbs, advice and knowledge from others and for 35 years, she shared her findings through articles, publications and published works — many considered horticultural classics today. Lawrence’s studies emerged as a vital contribution to the field, and she is now recognized as a preeminent figure in the region’s horticultural history.  Today, the garden is maintained as she intended — a horticultural learning center containing many unique specimens of woody plants, perennials and bulbs. Both the house and garden were entered in the National Register of Historic Places in September of 2006.

Hiestand Garden This seven-year-old garden flourishes against the “bones” of thirty-five-year-old hollies screening an ample backyard from the street.  Enclosed in this area is an oval lawn bordered by a variety of shrubs, conifers, and Japanese maples, as well as long-established camellias and azaleas.  Water features and raised veggie beds are found here as well.  The front yard is comprised entirely of natural areas where shade-lovers such as hosta, fern, heuchera, pieris, and mountain laurel are sheltered under venerable trees.  A sunny border near the street showcases low-growing conifers such as Cedrus deodara, and another bed at the sidewalk overflows with  perennials, old roses, and a specimen conifer of two.  Stone paths and low walls abound, while birdbaths and feeders are an integral part of the plantings.  With the wild things in mind, no chemicals are used.  There is no irrigation but a large cistern was installed in 2008.  My garden, part of the Wing Haven Garden Tour in 2007, is a constant surprise and delight as it continues to evolve.

Jay Sifford When this property was purchased twelve years ago, the garden was barely more than trees, mud, rotten ties, and liriope.  Nestled in the city, the garden is on its way to becoming a mountain woodland garden, staying true to the boulders, ferns, mosses, and trees, and speaking to the architectural style of the house.  The topography of the land is an inspiration, a blessing, and a challenge.  A natural-looking water garden has been carved into a hill and is the centerpiece of the property.  The series of three ponds, connected by streams and brought to life with waterfalls, adds movement and a sense of purpose to the garden.

Cannon Garden Situated on a half-acre-plus lot, it is evident upon approach that a true plant lover resides here, or as suggested by her husband, “a fanatic’.  Were my garden names, it would be along the lines or “I’ll Make Room”.  Shade-lovers especially will enjoy the myriad collections of Japanese maples, hostas, ferns, hellebores, and everything in between.  There is moss and miniature conifers as well as a fairly new woodland garden in the back apparently in habited by all creatures great and small.  The garden changes as the winds blow, and hopefully you will be uplifted.

Maple Walk The fieldstone lined paths laid by Tom meander through three properties which make up our garden.  Maple Walk derives its name from the collection of Japanese maples now exceeding eighty varieties.  Over the years, Tom’s primary interests became trees and shrubs, while Lib’s became perennials.  While we consider Maple Walk a shade garden, the recent inherited property of Lib’s dad’s former home has enabled us to include some full sun lovers; conifers, blueberries, blackberries, peonies, etc.  (Tom Nunnenkamp and Lib Jones)

Lindie Wilson Garden In September 2008, I started my new garden from scratch, planting the sunny front garden from scratch, planting the sunny front garden in a formal style with favorite annuals, perennials, dwarf shrubs, and bulbs.  The back garden, in contrast, is part-shade, planted with camellias, unusual hellebores, a Prunus mume, and various shade-loving plants.  The garden is a work-in-progress.  After twenty-three years of gardening in the historic Elizabeth Lawrence garden, where the plant palette was defined, it has been a wonderful adventure to plant many of those exciting plants that I have always wanted to grow.

Treadwell Garden It’s all about the flowers!  This half-acre hillside garden, evolved over twenty-five years, is packed with blooms.  The driveway entrance is home tone of Charlotte’s largest crape myrtles.  Stone-edged borders feature “drifts of one”.  Roses, salvias, daylilies, ferns, grasses, bulbs, reseeding annuals and hundreds of perennials bloom throughout the year.  Hand-cast concrete leaves are made from plants grown in the garden.  A tropical collection of orchids, ferns, and bromeliads winter in the sunroom/greenhouse.

Helen Yoest is a garden writer and coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™ Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenYoest and her facebook friend’s page, Helen Yoest or Gardening With Confidence™ Face Book Fan Page. Helen also serves on the board of advisors for the JC Raulston Arboretum