Adult Programs

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.   

Join renowned topiary artist Michael P. Gibson, former artist-in-residence of the legendary Pearl Fryar and founder of Gibson Works Property Art, for an immersive, hands-on workshop that blends artistry with therapeutic horticulture. Learn the eight principles of the Gibson Method to Contemporary Topiary as you design, shape, refine and bring your own unique tabletop topiary vision to life. With personalized, one‑on‑one guidance from Gibson, experience how creative pruning can nurture both artistic expression and emotional well‑being. Each participant will receive a two-foot-tall evergreen shrub. 

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 explores the principles of The Gibson Method, a creative approach to topiary that will help attendees make more confident, thoughtful cuts. 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.

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 variety of styles and traditions so you may begin training your plant. Plants, containers and all materials will be supplied in class for one bonsai plant per participant. Bonsai tools will be provided for use during the workshop. 

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.

The height of summer is the time to start planning your fall and winter vegetable garden. Starting your vegetables from seed gives you the opportunity to expand the varieties of plants you grow, including unique varieties you can’t find in a grocery store. Imagine crisp greens, nutritious broccoli and other garden-grown delights in your kitchen. Discover the benefits of growing vegetables from seed as Megan Brown, horticulturist of the Gateway Gardens at Duke Gardens, guides you through the process, from germination to harvest.  Learn what to start from seed now for transplanting later and what should be sown directly into the garden. Participants will plant several varieties of vegetables from seed to take home to your garden and receive other resources for garden planning. All materials provided.   

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.   

Experience tea as a social beverage and cultural tradition on this seasonal sensory journey with Violet Yang of Forest Well Tea. Participants will taste four different Chinese loose-leaf teas and be guided through experiencing the aromas, colors, textures and evolving flavors. Together, you’ll explore the plant, history, processing methods, regional origins, brewing techniques and cultural stories behind each tea. Designed to be approachable, sensory and educational, this session offers a quiet moment to slow down, connect and discover the depth of tea through taste and story.

In our modern era, classic bitters such as Angostura are often splashed into a cocktail. These bitters have their roots in European culinary traditions of aperitifs or digestifs (think Cynar, Campari), which all contain secret blends of botanicals that were historically used as plant-based medicine. In this interactive workshop, clinical herbalist Kelly Owensby of West of the Moon will explore how bitter botanicals have changed history, influenced our bodies’ co-evolution with bitter botanicals and had a significant impact on our overall health. Participants will experiment with tasting and formulating with 30 different herbal flavor profiles, including several N.C. native plants. Learn about the health impact and medicinal properties of different herbs, and take home a custom-crafted herbal bitters tincture to splash into bubbly water as a seasonal survival strategy.

Plants thrive in an extraordinary diversity of habitats, from hot, dry deserts to humid tropical rain forests to cold arctic tundra to expansive grasslands. But unlike most animals (including humans), plants are constrained to live in a fixed location. They can’t move to find the water, sunlight and nutrients they need to survive, and they can't migrate to avoid changing or harsh environmental conditions.  The varied ways plants have evolved and adapted to overcome these challenges are truly amazing.  Join Alec Motten, professor emeritus, Duke University Department of Biology, for a lively exploration of how plants respond to and shape their environment. You’ll start with an in-depth overview in the classroom before venturing out into the Gardens to see exciting examples from the plant collection. Pair this class with a tour of the Duke Research Greenhouse’s teaching collection on Saturday, November 21 (register separately).