GARDEN HIGHLIGHTS
EDUCATIONAL KIOSK
The Friends of the Flowering Bridge volunteers designed an eight-panel educational kiosk, which was installed and dedicated in the spring of 2019. Each panel has a focus.
• A Map of a Gateway to Somewhere Beautiful welcomes you to the gardens.
• Our History includes photos of the development of the gardens from 2011 through today including one of the volunteers who have made this happen. The stories of how they built and maintain the gardens are of particular interest.
• Plants for All Seasons shows how the look of the gardens changes with the seasons and highlights a plant of the month.
• You’ve Got Mail is our whimsical way of sharing educational information with visitors. Hand painted mailboxes house forms, brochures and other printed material.
• All About the Birds and the Bees showcases native bees and the birds found in Hickory Nut Gorge year-round and seasonally.
• Float Like a Butterfly highlights the life cycle and habitats of butterflies. An interactive
true/false butterfly facts game surprises visitors with some of the answers!
• Mountains to Main Street shares the varied activities that Rutherford County provides.
• The Lure of Hickory Nut Gorge tells the unique story of who we are, how we live and the importance of the gorge that cradles us.
The Secret Garden
Inspired by the beloved children’s book by Frances Hodgson Burnett, our Secret Garden isn’t really a secret, but a special hideaway filled with hollies, pink dogwoods and several different cultivars of hosta. There’s even a resident bullfrog! This is also a special place to rest in the shade on hot days.
Peter Rabbit Children’s Garden
In the winter of 2020, the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge designed and constructed its first children’s garden. Designed and named after the well-known stories by author Beatrix Potter, the garden is a big draw for children, who can play tic-tac-toe and hopscotch, plant a seed to take home, observe the root systems of growing plants in the observation window, play in the water feature or hide in the pole bean teepee under the keen watch of Mr. McGregor, one of Potter’s characters.
The Rainbow Bridge
Located at the entrance to the River’s Edge Dog Garden, our Rainbow Bridge honors animals of any kind that have shared our lives. Since its installation in 2022, many visitors have hung collars or tags honoring their beloved pet. Some visitors come to the Flowering Bridge just to leave the tags of beloved pets, including two friends from the Chicago area who drove 10 hours to hang six pets’ tags, lingered for a while to mourn, then got back in their car to make the long journey home.
We are now offering pet owners an opportunity to purchase a certificate commemorating the placement of your pet’s tribute on the LLFB Rainbow Bridge. The 8½” x 11” certificate includes an embossed Lake Lure Flowering Bridge seal and a small charm with the inscription “I’ll Meet You at the Rainbow Bridge.” This charm may be used in many ways as a reminder of your pet. The certificate also includes a space where you may add a small photo of your pet.
Your personalized Rainbow Bridge Certificate may be purchased for $20. The certificate will be mailed to you with an additional cost of $1.50 for postage or you may pick it up at the Flowering Bridge.
River’s Edge Dog Garden
The Lake Lure Flowering Bridge created a garden in 2020-2021 dedicated to man’s best friend that features a fire hydrant fountain, animal-friendly plants, a dog topiary, an open-air doghouse with “green” roof, dog footprint steppingstones and a dog stick library. This unique garden is nestled beside the Broad River, down the hill via a pathway from the educational kiosk.
Heather Garden
The Bridge is thrilled to have a Heather Garden in the historic Lamp Garden. Our cool temperatures in late fall and winter provide a nice growing space for heather and winter heath plants, and their bloom times provide beauty and color when the other gardens are dormant.
Pollinator Garden
The Pollinator Garden, located at the west end of the gardens, focuses on specific nectar- and pollen-producing plants that attract pollinators and provide food and shelter from early spring through late fall. Many of these plants are host plants for various stages of a butterfly’s life. Pollinators can find host plants easier if they are planted in groups. They are crucial to the continuation of 75 to 95% of plants. Plants in our Pollinator Garden include Tall Yellow Sunflower, Coneflower ‘Henry Eilers,’ Cutleaf Coneflower, Tartarian Aster, Mexican Sunflower, Salvia ‘Black and Blue,’ Dianthus, Common and Swamp Milkweed, Zinnias, Dwarf Blazing Star, Stokes Aster ‘Divinity,’ Montauk Daisy and Phlox ‘Glamour Girl.’ Set aside some time to sit in the pergola and enjoy watching the birds, bees and butterflies
Franklin Tree – “the rarest of the rare native trees”
Discovered by botanists John Bartram (1699-1777) and his son, William (1739-1823), in a small grove along Georgia’s Altamaha River in 1765, the Franklin Tree (Franklinia alatamaha) was named in honor of their friend Benjamin Franklin. Our most historic plant is a member of the tea family. Its white flowers bloom in late August and may continue blooming as its leaves change to red in October. The Franklin Tree, or lost camellia, disappeared completely from the wild by 1803. Only through the efforts of the Bartrams did this truly Native American plant survive. All cultivated plants in existence today descend from one or more of their collected specimens.
Lake Lure Flowering Bridge
PO Box 125
Lake Lure, NC 28746
Lake Lure Flowering Bridge is a volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Donations to help preserve and maintain the bridge and gardens are appreciated — and tax-deductible.
