Wing Haven's original Clarkson Garden is the Charlotte area's only designated garden and bird sanctuary listed as a local historic landmark by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmark Commission,[1] certified as Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation, and named an eBird hotspot by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.

[6][7] In 2018, Wing Haven added the Student Environmental Education and Discovery (SEED) Wildlife Garden.

The garden also contains an English sundial from 1705,[8][better source needed] various terra cotta pieces, and dozens of plaques.

In 2013, a Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) at a diameter of 67 in., height of 130 ft. and a spread of 50 ft. became a Treasure Tree and Jewel of the Queen's Crown as awarded by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, who started the formal Treasure Tree program in Mecklenburg County.

In 2000, Wing Haven Garden & Bird Sanctuary's Pin Chastetree (Vitex agnus-castus) was nominated as the nation's largest specimen of its species growing in the United States.