monarch, caterpillar, pollinator, pollination

Wildflower Labyrinth

Take a journey through the seasons of life

Located in the heart of the Core Park, the Wildflower Labyrinth is designed to provide a peaceful, meditative experience. During your exploration, you will find low-growing plants that brush your knees and are easy to navigate, along with taller plants and grasses that lean gently into the walkway. These represent the alternating joys and challenges of life.

Depending on the season, you will observe a variety of plantings carefully cultivated to honor the meadow wildflowers of the southern Appalachians. In early summer, blooming plants such as Coreopsis and Baptisia provide beautiful and vibrant color. The low-growing vegetation enables you to see clearly across the length of the labyrinth.

By August, the native grasses and wildflowers are shoulder-high and emphasize the quiet and solitary feel of the walkway. Underneath the masses of taller flowers are asters, goldenrod and black-eyed susans. With the approach of late fall, warm earth tones dominate the labyrinth as seed heads and dead stalks turn to brown and black. They will remain in this state throughout the winter.

In contrast to the quiet solitude of the Wildflower Labyrinth, Betty Bench is an adjacent lawn area that serves as both a gathering spot and introduction to the Azalea Walk. Built into the rock retaining wall, Betty Bench is surrounded by each of the native azaleas naturally crossed to produce Azalea Walk’s Gregory Bald hybrids.

wildflower, native plant, blossom
native plant gardens, wildflowers, western north carolina, lake toxaway, nc

Plant Varieties

  • Coreopsis

  • Baptisia

  • Asclepias tuberosa

  • Echinacea 

  • Eutrochium fistulosum

  • Rudbeckia laciniate

  • Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’

  • Native grasses

  • Asters

  • Solidago

  • Azaleas

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