Southern Highlands Reserve
October 3, 2025 | 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM (ET)
558 Summit Ridge Rd. Lake Toxaway, NC 28747
About
Online registration for this event will close September 19, 2025, after this date onsite registration will be possible for an additional fee.
Full refunds are available for cancellations up until September 19, after this date no refunds will be given for cancellations or no-shows. Lunch is included with your registration.
Focus: Native Plants & Horticulture
Southern Highlands Reserve is dedicated to sustaining the natural ecosystems of the Blue Ridge Mountains through the preservation, cultivation, and display of plants native to the region and by advocating for their value through education, restoration, and research. Located in Western North Carolina at an elevation of 4,500 feet, the varied topography and forest types found on our 120 acres allow us to emulate many of the plant communities found in high-elevation forests of the Southern Appalachians. Southern Highlands Reserve has been aptly described by some as “the largest and most diverse collection of native Southern Appalachian plants and their cultivars.”
These high-elevation forests are home to rare forest ecotones that provide unique opportunities for education and research. With the help of landscape design professionals, the Reserve grew out of a master planning process encompassing strategic management and aesthetic goals. The Reserve’s gardens are managed to illustrate how thoughtful design combined with complex native plant communities can showcase our high elevation microclimate. Each garden room is designed to elicit an emotional experience, fostering a human connection with the plants, animals and environment surrounding us. We hope our visitors experience the gardens as a place to reconnect with nature and reflect upon their role in the Grand Design.
Gorges State Park
8:00am –9:00am: Registration check-in/exploration on your own
9:00am – 9:30am: Introduction to Southern Highlands Reserve
9:30am – 10:00am: Weathering the Storm (Helene and Water runoff mitigation)
10:00am –10:15am: Break
10:15-11:45am: Growing Partnerships & Greenhouses
11:45pm: Attendees depart Gorges State Park for Southern Highlands Reserve
Southern Highlands Reserve
12:00pm: Lunch service begins at SHR
1:30pm: Tours begin at SHR
4:00pm: Tours end and folks are bid adieu
4:30pm: Optional cocktails at Grey Stone Inn
