Events Calendar

This season, big changes are underway! As we embark upon construction of the transformative Garden Gateway Project, a range of engaging education programs will continue but will feel slightly different during this period of exciting growth. You’ll find plant-inspired programs to engage your mind and body that take place onsite, offsite and virtually.

Please click the blue rectangles on the calendar for event and program information.

Upcoming Adult Education Programs

Hattie Meadows Gardening School: Containers With a Purpose

Hattie Meadows Gardening School: Containers With a Purpose

April 25, 202610:00 am-12:00 pm Free

Join Teri Speight, author of Black Flora: Inspiring Profiles of Floriculture’s New Vanguard and owner of Cottage in the Court, in an interactive talk and creation of a few Purposeful Containers. As ...

Midday Meander

Midday Meander

April 29, 202612:15 pm-1:00 pm Free

Join Kavanah Anderson, director of learning and community engagement at Duke Gardens, for a conversational stroll in the garden that deepens your relationship with plants. Swap plant stories, dig into...

Birding for Beginners

Birding for Beginners

May 2, 20268:00 am-9:30 am $10

Build your bird observation skills on a slow stroll through Duke Gardens with Bella Insignares, education staff at Duke Gardens, as you gather a list of different birds that use the Gardens. If you ha...

Making Cordage with Backyard Plants

Making Cordage with Backyard Plants

May 2, 20269:30 am-1:00 pm $65

Learn to create strong and beautiful cord from fibers growing in your backyard with Angela Eastman of Flag Mountain Studio. We will cover processing the bast fibers or whole leaves of many plants (suc...

Bearing Witness with Nature-Based Art: A Grief Journey with Gaza

Bearing Witness with Nature-Based Art: A Grief Journey with Gaza

May 3, 20263:00 pm-5:00 pm Free

Please join us for a pop-up exhibit and artist talk with The Witness about their evolving art practice that centers around themes of identity, belonging, grief and sorrow. The Witness will share how a...

A wooden garden gatehouse with pink flowering shrubs around it.

Walk on the Wild Side

Walk on the Wild Side

May 7, 202611:00 am-12:00 pm $10

Join horticulture staff and experienced volunteers on a walk around the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants to learn about connections between people, plants and place. Each month will feature a differe...

A woman in a kimono points out features of the Japanese teahouse to a group of bystanders

Japanese Tea Gathering: Children’s Day

Japanese Tea Gathering: Children’s Day

May 8, 202611:45 am-1:15 pm $68

Join Chizuko Sueyoshi and members of the Japanese Tea Practitioners of Durham for a moment of respite in the Duke Gardens teahouse, where you will experience the centering calm of a traditional Japane...

Languages of the Land: Getting to Know Native Fiber and Dye Plants

Languages of the Land: Getting to Know Native Fiber and Dye Plants

May 9, 202610:00 am-12:00 pm Free

Presented by Adé Oni, founder of dìèdìè textile micromill and studio. The earth gives us everything we need to survive and adorn our lives. Let's get to know the material culture and ancient rela...

A Japanese garden with a teahouse and trees and a man in a kimono pouring water into a basin

Japanese Tea Gathering: Children’s Day (a.m. seating)

Japanese Tea Gathering: Children’s Day (a.m. seating)

May 10, 202611:45 am-1:15 pm $68

Join us for a moment of respite in the Duke Gardens teahouse, where you will experience the centering calm of a Japanese tea gathering in the Urasenke tradition with tea master Chizuko Sueyoshi and me...

Japanese Tea Gathering: Children’s Day (p.m. seating)

Japanese Tea Gathering: Children’s Day (p.m. seating)

May 10, 20261:45 pm-3:15 pm $68

Join us for a moment of respite in the Duke Gardens teahouse, where you will experience the centering calm of a Japanese tea gathering in the Urasenke tradition with tea master Chizuko Sueyoshi and me...

Mosses of Duke Gardens

Mosses of Duke Gardens

May 12, 20262:30 pm-4:30 pm $24

Walk the Gardens with Blanka Aguero, bryophyte data manager at the Duke University Herbarium, to look for mosses and liverworts, discussing what they tell you about the site. Visit and learn about rec...

Making Herbarium Specimens for Science and Art

Making Herbarium Specimens for Science and Art

May 16, 20269:30 am-11:30 am $44

This interactive program led by Scott LaGreca, Paul J. Kramer Plant Collections Manager at Duke Gardens, will combine the scientific and artistic aspects of plant specimen preservation. Participants w...

Create Your Own Herbal Cooling Face Mist

Create Your Own Herbal Cooling Face Mist

May 17, 20262:00 pm-4:00 pm $42

Develop your relationship with some well-known plants by creating an herbal face mist with Sufia Ikbal-Doucet (they/them), herbalist & sovereignty doula. In this hands-on workshop, we’ll uncover the...

Plein Air Watercolor: Exploring Greens in the Landscape

Plein Air Watercolor: Exploring Greens in the Landscape

May 20, 20269:30 am-1:00 pm $58

Join us for a watercolor plein-air painting workshop set amid the lush beauty of the public garden with artist Ryann Carey. This class focuses on capturing the many shades and subtleties of gree...

Forest Bathing Walk

Forest Bathing Walk

May 21, 20263:00 pm-5:00 pm $32

Come discover the regenerative power of mindful engagement with nature with certified forest therapy guide Stephanie Campbell. The Japanese tradition of Shinrin-Yoku, forest bathing, is a practice usi...

Painting Collections: Flowers in Art

Painting Collections: Flowers in Art

May 23, 202610:00 am-11:30 am $36

Gardens with botanical artist Julia Einstein. Be inspired by botanical still lifes, floral motifs and natural forms in the decorative arts. You will be guided to "paint" with pencil and use techniques...

History of Gardening: How Cultures, Events, and People Made Gardening What it is Today

History of Gardening: How Cultures, Events, and People Made Gardening What it is Today

May 23, 202610:00 am-12:00 pm Free

Presented by Bryce Lane, NC State Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor Emeritus and former host and producer three-time, Emmy winning, UNC TV public television show “In the Garden With Bryce...

Botanical Linocut Printmaking

Botanical Linocut Printmaking

May 30, 202610:00 am-12:00 pm $36

Gather inspiration from the gardens in this introduction to linocut printmaking, a relief printing technique where an image is carved into a linoleum block, with Bella Insignares, education staff at D...

Close-up of delicate yellow flowers on a shrub, with green leaves and more shrubs in the background.

Native Plant Solutions: Fall Forward Perennials

Native Plant Solutions: Fall Forward Perennials

June 2, 202612:00 pm-1:00 pm Free

Does your landscape look tired near the end of summer? Give yourself and the wildlife around you a boost with fall-forward perennials. At their peak during late summer and fall, these species have uni...

A wooden garden gatehouse with pink flowering shrubs around it.

Walk on the Wild Side

Walk on the Wild Side

June 4, 202611:00 am-12:00 pm $10

Join horticulture staff and volunteers on a walk around the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants to learn about connections between people, plants and place. Each month will feature a different seasonal ...

Almost Summer Tree Trek

Almost Summer Tree Trek

June 6, 20269:00 am-10:30 am $24

Join tree expert Matt Archibald, ISA board-certified master arborist at Leaf & Limb, for a walk to wonder at the beauty of trees and learn fascinating facts about various species, their ecological imp...

Water Features from Bird Baths to Ponds

Water Features from Bird Baths to Ponds

June 13, 202610:00 am-12:00 pm Free

Landscape water features are a feast for the eyes, and the sound of water cascading from a fountain or waterfall can be quite relaxing. The class presented by Sheldon Galloway, Owner and Head of Opera...

A group of people in a garden setting stand in a circle and talk.

Midday Meander

Midday Meander

June 24, 202612:15 pm-1:00 pm Free

Join Kavanah Anderson, director of learning and community engagement at Duke Gardens, for a conversational stroll in the garden that deepens your relationship with plants. Swap plant stories, dig into...

Essential Pruning Techniques: Intro to The Gibson Method

Essential Pruning Techniques: Intro to The Gibson Method

June 27, 202610:00 am-12:00 pm Free

Pruning doesn’t have to be confusing or intimidating. This beginner talk presented by Mike Gibson, Topiary Artist and founder of Gibson Works Property Art, introduces basic pruning techniques and ex...

Triangle Bonsai Society Expo

Triangle Bonsai Society Expo

July 11, 202610:00 am-4:00 pm Free

Enjoy an amazing array of these carefully pruned plants, created and exhibited by the Triangle Bonsai Society. This two-day exhibit will include more than 50 bonsai created in multiple styles, and you...

Beginning a Bonsai Workshop

Beginning a Bonsai Workshop

July 12, 20269:00 am-1:00 pm $75

Begin the process of creating a bonsai tree to take home while you learn about the art and science of this ancient practice. The skillful members of the Triangle Bonsai Society will introduce you to a...

Triangle Bonsai Society Expo

Triangle Bonsai Society Expo

July 12, 202610:00 am-4:00 pm Free

Enjoy an amazing array of these carefully pruned plants, created and exhibited by the Triangle Bonsai Society. This two-day exhibit will include more than 50 bonsai created in multiple styles, and you...

Hattie Meadows Gardening School: Containers With a Purpose

Hattie Meadows Gardening School: Containers With a Purpose

April 25, 2026 @ 10:00 am- @ 12:00 pm

Join Teri Speight, author of Black Flora: Inspiring Profiles of Floriculture’s New Vanguard and owner of Cottage in the Court, in an interactive talk and creation of a few Purposeful Containers. As African Americans, we had to make use of just about everything we plan...

Midday Meander

Midday Meander

April 29, 2026 @ 12:15 pm- @ 1:00 pm

Join Kavanah Anderson, director of learning and community engagement at Duke Gardens, for a conversational stroll in the garden that deepens your relationship with plants. Swap plant stories, dig into horticultural history, question what you know and practice multisenso...

Birding for Beginners

Birding for Beginners

May 2, 2026 @ 8:00 am- @ 9:30 am

Build your bird observation skills on a slow stroll through Duke Gardens with Bella Insignares, education staff at Duke Gardens, as you gather a list of different birds that use the Gardens. If you have ever found yourself wondering about the birds that are flying or si...

Making Cordage with Backyard Plants

Making Cordage with Backyard Plants

May 2, 2026 @ 9:30 am- @ 1:00 pm

Learn to create strong and beautiful cord from fibers growing in your backyard with Angela Eastman of Flag Mountain Studio. We will cover processing the bast fibers or whole leaves of many plants (such as daffodil, iris, daylily, crocosmia and the inner barks of many vi...

Bearing Witness with Nature-Based Art: A Grief Journey with Gaza

Bearing Witness with Nature-Based Art: A Grief Journey with Gaza

May 3, 2026 @ 3:00 pm- @ 5:00 pm

Please join us for a pop-up exhibit and artist talk with The Witness about their evolving art practice that centers around themes of identity, belonging, grief and sorrow. The Witness will share how applying images to fresh leaves and paper has allowed them to process t...

Hattie Meadows Gardening School: Containers With a Purpose

Hattie Meadows Gardening School: Containers With a Purpose

April 25, 2026 @ 10:00 am- @ 12:00 pm

Join Teri Speight, author of Black Flora: Inspiring Profiles of Floriculture’s New Vanguard and owner of Cottage in the Court, in an interactive talk and creation of a few Purposeful Containers. As African Americans, we had to make use of just about everything we plan...

Midday Meander

Midday Meander

April 29, 2026 @ 12:15 pm- @ 1:00 pm

Join Kavanah Anderson, director of learning and community engagement at Duke Gardens, for a conversational stroll in the garden that deepens your relationship with plants. Swap plant stories, dig into horticultural history, question what you know and practice multisenso...

Birding for Beginners

Birding for Beginners

May 2, 2026 @ 8:00 am- @ 9:30 am

Build your bird observation skills on a slow stroll through Duke Gardens with Bella Insignares, education staff at Duke Gardens, as you gather a list of different birds that use the Gardens. If you have ever found yourself wondering about the birds that are flying or si...

Making Cordage with Backyard Plants

Making Cordage with Backyard Plants

May 2, 2026 @ 9:30 am- @ 1:00 pm

Learn to create strong and beautiful cord from fibers growing in your backyard with Angela Eastman of Flag Mountain Studio. We will cover processing the bast fibers or whole leaves of many plants (such as daffodil, iris, daylily, crocosmia and the inner barks of many vi...

Bearing Witness with Nature-Based Art: A Grief Journey with Gaza

Bearing Witness with Nature-Based Art: A Grief Journey with Gaza

May 3, 2026 @ 3:00 pm- @ 5:00 pm

Please join us for a pop-up exhibit and artist talk with The Witness about their evolving art practice that centers around themes of identity, belonging, grief and sorrow. The Witness will share how applying images to fresh leaves and paper has allowed them to process t...

Questions about upcoming events?

Please contact us at 919-668-1707 or GardensEducation@duke.edu.