Visit Buckhead Gardens Designed as Wildlife Habitat
Meet Georgia Authors Charles Seabrook and John Yow

AAS encourages you to purchase tickets in advance

Even in-town gardens can feed and shelter native wildlife. Four private gardens and one nature preserve in Buckhead and Sandy Springs show visitors how to cultivate their own yards as critical habitat for native species during this year’s Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary Tour, hosted by the Atlanta Audubon Society.

From 10:00 am to noon, award-winning nature writer Charles Seabrook will sign his book Cumberland Island: Strong Women, Wild Horses and discuss his upcoming book about the ecology of the Georgia coast to be published later this year.

From 1:00 to 3:00 pm, John Yow will sign his funny and informative 2009 book The Armchair Birder: Discovering the Secret Lives of Familiar Birds. In addition, the Georgia Native Plant Society will sell native plants, perfect food sources for native wildlife. Also refreshments, AAS t-shirts, and other logo merchandise will be available for purchase throughout tour hours. Children’s activities will be held at noon.

The public is invited to visit these certified wildlife sanctuaries:

Home of Thaea Lloyd and Robert Harville, 570 Valley Lane, Sandy Springs
The creation of professional landscape architects, this heavily planted half-acre lot is divided into many outdoor rooms, each establishing a different micro-environment. Lloyd uses native plants to provide food and habitat for wildlife and easy-care flower beds for humans. A small structure known as The Bear House serves as a focal point. Its rustic porch is an ideal place to relax and bird watch. Another highlight is a Washington Hawthorn tree that attracts hundreds of Cedar Waxwings each winter.

click each image to enlarge - © Beth Giddens

Home of Celia and Don Gilner, 4867 Northland Drive, Buckhead
Anchored by a 1937 granite home, the seven-acre garden features a pond, waterfall, Japanese garden and pasture with horses bordering Nancy Creek. The pond attracts herons, mallards, and wood ducks. The pasture with shrubs, bird feeders and nesting boxes attracts cardinals, bluebirds, hawks, brown thrashers and pileated woodpeckers.
A mature mahonia patch is often used by robins for nesting, while its berries attract many bird species. Native plants such as wild blackberries, elderberries and alder shrubs also attract birds and wildlife. A generous plant buffer around the pond provides cover and shade for birds, as well as frogs, turtles and fish.

click each image to enlarge - © JoAnn Jordan and Cathy Harmans

Home of Atlanta Audubon Society, Blue Heron Nature Preserve, 4055 Roswell Road, North Buckhead
An ideal site for Atlanta Audubon, the 25-acre Blue Heron Nature Preserve is dedicated to protecting and restoring wetlands along and near Nancy Creek. The focus is on community involvement and education for innovative ways to preserve local green space and wetland habitat, gain accessibility, stabilize creek banks, attract wildlife, and improve water quality. An added bonus at the Blue Heron Nature Preserve during the September 11 tour will be the chance to meet two Georgia authors.

Home of Lisa Frank, 4108 Haverhill Drive, North Buckhead
The transformation of this property from a ranch house surrounded by open lawn to a diverse garden landscape began in the early 1990s; plantings are now beginning to mature. Created by horticulturist Terry May, former superintendent of grounds at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, this plant collector’s garden features unusual trees, shrubs, perennials and groundcovers. Always planned as drought-tolerant and wildlife friendly, the garden is not watered and no pesticides are used. Evergreens provide ample nesting sites while a variety of berries and nectar provide food. Pine tree snags attract six species of woodpeckers, and brush piles are used as shelter. The layered effect of trees, shrubs and groundcovers provides a beneficial environment for birds and other wildlife, further supported by the adjacent mature woodland and nearby Nancy Creek. Plants of particular benefit to birds are a large mass of Salvia gauranitica for hummingbirds; berry-producing species such as Cornus alternifolia, Cotoneaster lacteus, and several hollies including Ilex latifolia, Ilex glabra and Ilex ‘Mary Nell’. An art gallery in the basement will be open to visitors, showcasing the art of Frank’s late mother Shirlee Frank.

click each image to enlarge - © Lisa Frank

Trinity Presbyterian Church, 3003 Howell Mill Road, Buckhead
Members of Trinity Presbyterian have long valued the natural beauty of their 25-acre property, an astonishing size for a single parcel within the City of Atlanta. Special features include a high canopy of mature trees, dense undergrowth and a wealth of native plants. Visitors will enjoy a nature trail and a woodland garden known as the Glen. Birdbaths, bluebird boxes and many plantings are all designed to attract birds and encourage nesting and migration. As certified wildlife sanctuaries, these sites show homeowners and gardeners how they can cultivate their own yards to preserve native plants and habitat for wildlife. The four essential components of a wildlife sanctuary are:

Shelter: Active nesting areas or shelters that attract and protect birds and other wildlife.
Food: Feeders and plantings that offer seeds, flowers, and berries to wildlife.
Water: Birdbaths, water gardens, or natural features with flowing water.
Nesting Sites: Bird boxes, natural cavities, or wood piles and vine tangles.

The Sanctuary Tour and Program are designed to encourage residential homeowners and homeowners' associations, business park owners/managers, and golf course owners/managers to become involved in the preservation of native plants and habitat for wildlife.