LAKE LURE, N.C. (WLOS) — Nearly two years after Helene tore through Lake Lure, a beloved place of remembrance is finally on its way back.
The Flowering Bridge and Garden was among the places damaged when Helene devastated the town in September 2024. The storm destroyed the longtime garden and washed away the Rainbow Bridge — a special place where people remembered lost pets and hung their collars in remembrance.
Now, the garden is blooming again, volunteers are bringing new life to the space and plans are underway to rebuild the Rainbow Bridge.
“It is completely amazing, and 100% of this is due to our volunteers who have worked tirelessly for the last six months, getting structures selected and built and the garden design,” said Kathy Tanner, chair of the Flowering Bridge Board of Directors.
A garden rebuilt by the community
The gardens are more than just a place to grow plants. Each one was sponsored by a family or organization, with about $250,000 worth of gardens now taking shape.
“It’s almost $250,000 worth of gardens over here,” Tanner said.
Volunteers have spent months rebuilding the space, adding new elements while working to preserve what made the garden special in the first place.
Nearly two years after Helene tore through Lake Lure, a beloved place of remembrance is finally on its way back. (Photo: WLOS Staff)
“Every one of them has their own personality,” Tanner said.
Even on scorching summer days, volunteers continue to work to keep the garden growing.
“This garden is special to every single person in this community, as well as the country, so the support we’ve received from a volunteer standpoint has been amazing,” Tanner said.
Now, visitors are once again strolling through the garden — waiting for one of its most meaningful pieces to return.
Bringing back the Rainbow Bridge
For ArtReach chair Amy Wald, seeing the Flowering Bridge destroyed after Helene was overwhelming.
“I biked over here and just started crying,” Wald said. “It was gone, gone and we couldn’t even imagine how you fix that.”
Nearly two years later, the garden looks dramatically different.
“When they first were able to put plants in the ground and bricks there were just little sprouts and stuff, and it was nice, but now I look at it, and I’m so proud of it,” Wald said.
But for Wald, one of the most emotional parts of the recovery has been the return of the Rainbow Bridge.
Before Helene, the bridge served as a memorial for pets. People hung their animals’ collars there after they died, creating a place where families could remember pets they considered part of the family.
When the bridge was destroyed, 469 collars were eventually recovered from the rubble.
“When the Rainbow Bridge went down, so many people were so sad that the collars — they kind of felt like they lost their pets again,” Wald said. “And then we started finding collars.”
Wald photographed the collars and posted pictures and descriptions online, hoping their owners would recognize them.
“I mean, you could almost hear them crying,” she said, describing the reaction when people found their pets’ collars.
“The whole Rainbow Bridge concept is so touching to so many people in different ways, and I can’t wait to get the new one up,” Wald said.
A new bridge is in the works
The group has now approved a design and selected a builder for the new Rainbow Bridge.
The new structure will be 12 feet long and will include a walkway, an area for visitors to stand, signs and poems about the Rainbow Bridge, and a path leading down toward the river.
The water feature will also be redesigned as a recirculating creek bed with constant water.
Wald said the new bridge will be another special addition to a garden that has already come a long way.
“We’re going to do the best we can with a 12-foot bridge,” she said.
“The new Rainbow Bridge is going to be really pretty, so I just can’t wait for it to get there.”
More than a garden
The memories of what was lost to Helene are also still visible throughout the garden.
The space is filled with bricks dedicated to people who have passed away. During a recent visit, several women came looking for one of those memorial bricks.
The brick had been damaged during the storm, but volunteers had held onto it.
“She was really very touched to find that her brick was still here, and I offered either to replace the brick or install it as is,” said Becky Melton, the garden’s marketing chair.
Melton said each brick represents a story.
“There are stories of all of these bricks here. Every story is very special,” she said.
For the volunteers who have spent months rebuilding the garden, those stories are part of what makes the work worth it.
Helene may have washed away the Flowering Bridge and Rainbow Bridge, but the community is rebuilding more than structures. It is rebuilding a place filled with memories — and creating a new chapter for the people and pets it has honored for years.
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