Most gardeners are familiar with planting container-grown perennials, but using plugs requires a shift in mindset and technique. These young starter plants, grown in trays instead of pots, offer distinct advantages: they are cost-effective, easier to plant and establish quickly. They are ideal for large areas, slopes and under trees. However, not every gardener is familiar with plugs. Planting them successfully takes a bit of practical know-how that even experienced gardeners will appreciate refining. Join Shannon Currey, education and outreach at Izel Native Plant, to learn the pros and cons of plugs, when they’re most appropriate and best practices for handling, planting and managing them. With these essentials, you’ll be planting like a pro!
Spend an afternoon in Duke Forest with Blanka Aguero, bryophyte data manager at the Duke University Herbarium, learning about the common mosses of North Carolina woods. Learn about the biology of mosses and liverworts and gain basic moss identification skills as you explore a world beneath your feet. Look for a separate program led by Blanka about the mosses of Duke Gardens on May 12.
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 multisensory observation on a playful amble through the Gardens that delights and disrupts your understanding of what a garden can be. Expect to learn from each other, share what you know and leave with more questions than you started with.
Penny’s Bend, an 84-acre preserve, has a unique geology and therefore distinct soils that support rare plant species. Join Alec Motten, professor emeritus, and Paul Manos, professor of biology, Duke University, for a relatively easy hike, under two miles. The spring wildflower season is challenging to predict, but we will see plenty! Plan to wear weather-appropriate, comfortable clothes and good walking shoes.
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 different seasonal topic related to gardening with native plants.
Learning to notice plant family patterns can greatly aid in demystifying the “green wall” of plant species around us. Nearly 350,000 species of flowering plants are known to global science, and these species have been grouped into more than 400 flowering plant families. By learning the top 30 plant families growing around you, you will begin to recognize plants everywhere you go. After an indoor presentation on the major plant families common to the Southeastern U.S., ethnobotanist marc williams will reinforce your plant identification skills on a walk in the Gardens to observe family patterns in leaf, flower and fruit types. Discuss edibility, medicinality, craft, wildlife support and landscape beauty as you gain a more holistic understanding of the major plants comprising Southern U.S. flora and their potential ecological and ethnobotanical applications.
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 planted and planted in to make it affordable, pleasurable, and purposeful. From a discarded bucket to wore out pots and pans, we created herbal containers, pollinator-attracting containers and containers that tickled our senses. Teri will share a list of plant material from edible, natives, annuals, and perennials that will thrive in most containers with the proper care. Container Gardening is a way to empower our community to grow something however or wherever you can. This program is part of the Hattie Meadows Gardening School, a free community learning project to spread knowledge and love of gardening. Classes will take place at the Stanford L. Warren Library from January through June 2026. This program is presented in partnership with Stanford L. Warren Library, Sarah P. Duke Gardens and Durham County Cooperative Extension and made possible by the Durham Library Foundation.
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 multisensory observation on a playful amble through the Gardens that delights and disrupts your understanding of what a garden can be. Expect to learn from each other, share what you know and leave with more questions than you started with.
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 singing around you, join us to learn more together as a group. Bring your own binoculars if you have them (not required) and a sense of curiosity.
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 vines such as kudzu, wisteria and more) to create cordage, an ancient craft practiced around the world.
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 the immense reactions and sorrow that emerged from witnessing the suffering and erasure in Gaza. They will share how their nature-based art has changed in response to the seasons and a need for stronger creative expression. This talk offers an intimate view into their art practice and the stories around it.
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 different seasonal topic related to gardening with native plants.