Clairmont Heights Civic Association

From MANA : 2009 Tickets & Maps AVAILABLE AT ACE Hardware now and on Day of Tour At Medlock School. Last year's event was a rousing, inspirational success. We had huge plots, small plots, fish ponds, bird houses, old gardens, new gardens, community gardens, vegetable bounty, butterfly habitat, shade gardens, and sunflowers galore. About 250 adults and many children toured these gems of our neighborhood. This year promises to be another wonderful event so plan to come out and share in the amazement of all these garden spaces right here in Medlock! We will need lots of volunteers on the day of the tour to "garden-sit." Contact Margie at: Thirdbrown136@sbcglobal.net if you can help. See more info below or in attached flyer

An exciting variety of 14 gardens to enchant everyone
Explore some gardens by walking; or bike or drive to see All
Learn from small raised vegetable beds at a church
View beehives & grapevines on a 2-acre property
Check out a rain pond garden
Rest awhile at a bird habitat
Walk a swinging bridge to a large lagoon
Enjoy the goldfish pond at historic Steele-Cobb house
Smile at neighbors
Hopscotch through whimsical Harrington hollow
See bat houses at children’s garden
Meander thru a Wildlife Sanctuary
Stop at Pine Oasis for an elegant delight
Drink some lemonade

Proceeds to benefit Medlock School for environmental education
ALL IN OUR MEDLOCK NEIGHBORHOOD
$5 Tickets on Sale Now
KIDS free (12 & under)

Suggested Routes from Church: A-N; or from Medlock School: L, M, N, A-K

A. 611 Medlock Road – N. Decatur Presbyterian Church – Garden with a Mission. Multiple raised beds to the left of the church include a “sunflower house.” This project began to educate church members to conserve energy, recycle and “live green.” A portion of each crop is donated to Decatur Emergency Assistance Ministry; the rest goes to church members to encourage eating locally grown, organic food. One bed is maintained by kids at after-school and summer camp programs & used for environmental education.
B. 681 Medlock Road – McClelen Family Property. In the family since 1921, this property was originally 33 acres and is now 2 acres. About half the land is cleared with extensive plantings including Japanese maple, walnut and smoke trees; there are new grapevines, a vegetable garden, honeybee hives and massive daylily & hosta beds. The other half of the land is a wooded nature area.
C. 677 Sunstede Drive – Greenscape in the Shade. Environmentally sound gardening: this yard includes a rain garden with native plants fed by gutter drainpipes. Rain gardens hold storm water from the roof and let it infiltrate the soil, reducing potential flooding and allowing recharge of groundwater. Other special features include a fish pond with a waterfall, a small organic vegetable garden, and many rocks, reflecting the owner’s geological training. Sunstede runs between Eastway and Sunnybrook, parallel to Medlock.
D. 2442 Shadydale Lane – Judith's Jungle. 16 years ago, this gardener began to dig up her front yard to fill completely with flowers. Drought- and heat-resistant perennials replaced crab grass to create a wildlife habitat, meeting National Wildlife Federation criteria by providing food, shelter, water and protected places for birds to raise their young. This year red-tailed hawks, bluebirds, brown thrashers and song sparrows nested; a resident owl kept watch. Complete with summer house and backyard pond, it's for the birds!
E. 820 Gardenia Lane – The Secret Garden. After viewing the assortment of roses, hydrangeas and annuals in the front, visitors may go through the little gate beyond the carport to a quaint and carefree patio garden. In addition to a colorful array of perennials and annuals, this “secret” garden contains two patios, a water pond and a grassy area with swings. Off Woodridge Drive.
F. * 819 Gardenia Lane – Rolling Hillside Cottage Garden. On 1.7 acres, this amazing lot is hidden at the end of a dead-end street. It features a huge, mostly-shade garden with meandering pathways surrounded by hosta, hydrangea, canna lily, black-eyed Susan, bee balm and more. At the bottom of the garden a wonderful swinging bridge crosses the creek, leading to a large field and a large lagoon!
G. * 2632 Fox Hills Drive – The Historic Steele-Cobb House. Built in 1855, this neighborhood mansion is on the National Register of Historic Places. Originally 360 acres, it is now just over 2 acres. In antebellum days corn, sweet potatoes and wheat were grown; the current owners have kept it more as a country park. Mature trees include water oak, pin oak, cedar, pecan, magnolia, Japanese maple and gingko. The large pond, full of goldfish, is a replica of one the owners had in England. Off Wintergreen, which is off Woodridge.
H. * 2485 Harrington Drive – A Little Taste of Heaven. The main vegetable garden of the tour! Started in part from seed in the owner’s dining room last winter, the garden contains heirloom tomatoes including Black Russian and Cherokee Purple, pole beans, butter beans, lima beans and okra; fig, pear, banana, cherry and apricot trees; and blackberries, strawberries and raspberries.
I. 2455 Harrington Drive – Silk Purse from a Sow’s Ear. Once an eyesore property, this yard has been lovingly transformed into a whimsical woodland oasis complete with a large deck and stone pathway. Plantings include Japanese maple, dogwood, hosta, fern and coral bells. There are two fabulous dogs and much more! Come and meander, or just sit a spell…
J. 2443 Harrington Drive – A Green Thought in a Green Place. This garden combines hosta, azalea, hydrangea, gardenia, lilies and a variety of flowering plants. Liriope and ferns galore are surrounded by stones. Along with a stone bench and vine-covered trellis, a small fish pond and a little organic garden, this is a truly peaceful bird-and-people sanctuary.
K. 2377 Harrington Drive – Owner’s Imagination. This amazing neighborhood secret returns from the 2008 tour. Over an acre, there is a “grand landscape” front yard with pond and fountain. A huge backyard contains four more fountains; greatly expanded flower beds; espaliered plum, peach and apple trees; blackberries and red and golden raspberries; dozens of red and yellow gates, posts and stars; green and yellow windmill; gigantic bird house under construction; and dozens of finches and parakeets! A sumptuous feast…
L. 2418 Wood Trail Lane – Medlock Elementary Children’s Garden. Come to the back of the school to see this garden, built over the past 6 years by students, parents and community volunteers. It includes raised vegetable beds, a butterfly garden, a composting center and an amphitheater for outdoor classes. Brand new bird houses, bat houses, bee houses, and ladybug houses were bought with Garden Tour proceeds last year, along with relevant library materials, with each grade focusing on a particular species. A star garden!
M.* 920 Gaylemont Circle – A Country Walk. Atlanta Audubon Society Wildlife Sanctuary and Backyard Wildlife Habitat! Enjoy a little country in the city: enter through the lantana; pass blackberry, crabapple and dogwood and go over a wooden bridge; turn right at the arbor; stroll past blueberry, cucumber, melon and corn to a peach and cherry orchard; meditate at the grape arbor and watch the blue heron fishing; find the bamboo tunnel and scan for beavers; enter the backyard habitat and reflect with St. Francis among hosta, astilbe, fern, oakleaf, lily of the valley, hydrangea, day lily and lenten rose; cross a small bridge and exit past the rock garden with gardenia, azalea, creeping jenny, thrift, spider plant and Carolina jasmine… Gaylemont intersects Wood Trail Lane at Medlock Pool.
N. 576 Willivee Drive – Pine Oasis. Last but definitely not least – a must-see! A large, elegant garden filled with plants and paths, sunlight streaming through a high pine canopy. Two butterfly, bee, and hummingbird gardens flank the grassy area leading to a second patio, built on the slab of an old tin tool house. Shady pathways lead around numerous beds of native azalea, hosta, fern, Solomon’s Seal, trillium and other native plants; hydrangeas give summer color. Don’t miss!

* = Difficult terrain for strollers, wheelchairs, or canes