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 topic related to gardening with native plants. In October we will investigate how the inhabitants (plants and animals) are preparing themselves for the coming winter weather and helping their neighbors in the process.
Join curator Paul Jones on a series of walking tours to learn how the Culberson Asiatic Arboretum has developed over the past 40 years from an overgrown woodland to the enchanting garden it is today. Experience the changing seasons as you hear stories about early landscaping ideas, plant collecting trips to China and Japan and the people and projects that shaped its early years of development. Each date will cover a different aspect of the Arboretum’s history. This walk will highlight the tremendous expansion of projects in the Arboretum in the 1990's made possible by major gifts, a new advisory board, a new volunteer program and several plant collecting trips to China. Join for one or more walks; register separately for each one: September 5, October 3 and November 7.
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 using all your senses to connect with nature. Many studies have found it to be helpful in decreasing stress, increasing immune system functioning and improving concentration, creativity and mood. In a slow-paced two-hour session, Stephanie will offer a sequence of gentle invitations designed to help you immerse yourself in deeper connection with nature, ending with a forest-based tea.
Looking for strategies to garden smarter and boost your landscape’s ecological impact? Join Shannon Currey, education and outreach at Izel Native Plants, to learn how native grasses can help reduce resource use, add biodiversity and increase resilience. Offering so much more than turfgrasses can, these extraordinary plants help preserve and build the soil, reduce weed competition and lend a host of ecosystem benefits. They’re workhorses that get the job done while adding beauty and aesthetic appeal. We’ll examine what makes grasses special and explore how you can use them in your landscape. And while sedges, grass-like plants with virtues of their own, are wonderful, this session will focus on true grasses. From short to tall, in shade and in sun, learn about using native grasses to build better landscapes.
Lichens are found in nearly every habitat on Earth. Despite often being overlooked, they are extremely useful indicators of both air pollution and climate change. Embark on a lichen-centric ramble through Duke Gardens with Scott LaGreca, Paul J. Kramer Plant Collections Manager, to explore the fascinating world of these curious organisms. Learn to identify different kinds of lichens and understand their ecological roles.
Celebrate the bounty of autumn with a festival of activities, music, demonstrations and more, led by Duke Gardens and other local groups in the Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden. We'll have activities for adults and children together; all ages. Children must be accompanied by an adult. No registration required for this free drop-in festival.
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 members of the Japanese Tea Practitioners of Durham. Enjoy the aesthetics, poetry and serenity of this rich tradition over an enticing bowl of whisked green tea and a Japanese confection. Guests will be escorted on a 15-minute walk to the teahouse, where seating is on the ground unless a chair is requested during registration by emailing GardensEducation@duke.edu. For ages 12 and up.
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 members of the Japanese Tea Practitioners of Durham. Enjoy the aesthetics, poetry and serenity of this rich tradition over an enticing bowl of whisked green tea and a Japanese confection. Guests will be escorted on a 15-minute walk to the teahouse, where seating is on the ground unless a chair is requested during registration by emailing GardensEducation@duke.edu. For ages 12 and up.
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 members of the Japanese Tea Practitioners of Durham. Enjoy the aesthetics, poetry and serenity of this rich tradition over an enticing bowl of whisked green tea and a Japanese confection. Guests will be escorted on a 15-minute walk to the teahouse, where seating is on the ground unless a chair is requested during registration by emailing GardensEducation@duke.edu. For ages 12 and up.
Participants will explore spices and herbs as a medium to build a practical daily connection with plants. Tapping into intuition, memory and intention, Sufia Ikbal-Doucet (they/them), herbalist & sovereignty doula, will guide participants in creating a Cajun seasoning blend to take home, where you can experience the kitchen as a location of deep plant connection and fundamental mindfulness. This is one of three workshops in the series, Cultivating Mindfulness through Plant Relationships, exploring creativity, deep presence, and deliberate beauty with plants. Register separately for each one.
Mums can be carefully cultivated to produce amazingly large blooms in a spectacular range of flower types and colors. Learn the secrets of display mums as Michelle Rawlins, Ruth Mary Meyer Japanese Garden horticulturist, takes you to see the flowers on exhibit in the Culberson Asiatic Arboretum.