Ellen Bird Garden Tour

Ellen Bird will show us around the certified native garden she has built at her home in Mint Hill. This is a members-only event and you will receive the address for the tour via email once you register. Register here today!

In the summer of 2020, I started thinking more about my yard since I was stuck home due to the COVID lockdowns. After a lot of reading it seemed like native plants were the best way to support more pollinators and birds. I hadn’t lived in the Southeast long and knew little about the native plants here, so I searched for a landscape designer who specialized in native plants. I was fortunate to meet Lisa Tompkins and she helped me come up with a plan for my yard, front and back. Thanks to her knowledge, I have things in bloom much of the year.

I live on a smallish suburban lot (approx .25 acre) and have a homeowner’s association. I am lucky to have a number of white oaks, maples, a swamp oak and elms on the lot – this is an older neighborhood where they didn’t clear-cut the lots entirely. One big project was installing a large dry river, as well as shrubs, trees, ephemerals and plants. I am happy to say that about 95% of my landscape is now native plants. I have many varieties of birds, see more butterflies, have many pollinating bees and flies, and also dragonflies and toads, which I love.

Things you will hopefully see in bloom include:

• Iris versicolor and fulva
• Phlox amoena
• Phlox amoena
• Wisteria macrostachya “Kentucky Blue Moon”
• Amsonia tabernaemontana
• Viburnum obovatum “Raulston’s Hardy”
• Aronia arbutifolia “Brilliantissima”
• Gelsemium sempervirens
• Fothergilla “Mount Airy”