Piedmont prairies are grassland ecosystems that once covered a substantial part of the rolling landscape of the Piedmont region that stretches from New Jersey to central Alabama, covering an area of approximately 80,000 square miles. This ecosystem, maintained through grazing and the controlled use of fire by the many Indigenous groups, began to vanish with the arrival of Europeans. Join Blomquist Garden of Native Plants curator Annabel Renwick to learn how widespread conservation efforts are now recognizing Indigenous wisdom in maintaining this ecosystem and how Annabel has rebuilt this prairie landscape at Duke Gardens with native ecotype wildflowers and grasses.

Tour the newly reimagined Carnivorous and Coastal Plain Plant Collection that features a variety of carnivorous plants native to North Carolina, including pitcher plants and Venus flytraps. Due to habitat loss, they are imperiled in their biologically rich native range just a few hours away from Duke Gardens. Join Maegan Luckett, horticulturist in the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants, to meet these and other fascinating plants that grow in moist, nutrient-poor soils, such as pond cypress (Taxodium ascendens), several species of bog orchids and the delightful orange milkwort (Senega lutea), also known as “Bog Cheetos.” Learn about the importance of conservation efforts to preserve these North Carolina treasures.

Built on the grounds of a former cotton plantation, the Tuskegee Institute, founded by Booker T. Washington, offered agricultural and industrial education as a strategy for Black self-determination. In his new book Afterlives of the Plantation: Plotting Agrarian Futures in the Global South, Duke University professor Dr. Jarvis C. McInnis charts a new account of Black modernity by centering Tuskegee’s vision of agrarian worldmaking. He traces the diasporic ties and networks of exchange that linked Black communities in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although Washington is often regarded as an accommodationist, McInnis shows how artists, intellectuals and political leaders—including George Washington Carver, Jean Price-Mars, Zora Neale Hurston, Claude McKay and Marcus Garvey—adapted Tuskegee’s methods into dynamic strategies for liberation in places like Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti and Jamaica. A local land and farm advocate will join Dr. McInnis to discuss the contemporary dynamics of this groundbreaking book. Copies will be available for purchase while supplies last, and a book signing will take place following the discussion.

Focus on the shape, color, symmetry and texture of plants as you access a meditative state with your body. Sufia Ikbal-Doucet (they/them), herbalist & sovereignty doula, will guide participants to a state of deeper presence through creating botanical mandalas. Find a place of relaxation, improvisation and creativity as you deepen your practice of being with the potent ephemerality of plant beauty. 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. Look for additional programs on October 5 and October 26.

RESCHEDULED FOR 9/12/25. 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 first walk will include Dr. Culberson's original vision for the landscape and its early development. Join for one or more walks; register separately for each one: September 5, October 3 and November 7.

Practice drawing from life in Duke Gardens as you sit or stand at plant height to capture its essence on paper. Botanical artist Julia Einstein will guide you as you make botanical sketches and natural gesture drawings in miniature and on a large scale using a variety of drawing tools. Bring home an artful set of field studies that can transform your walls into a garden.  Julia creates a welcoming, inclusive environment for artists of all skill levels. All materials are included in the cost.

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.

Spend the morning inspired by the Gardens and express your creativity through watercolor.  In this en plein air class, watercolor artist Ryann Carey will begin by demonstrating her approach to this style of painting, focusing on composition, color and value.  With thoughtfulness in these three areas, all experience levels, including beginners, can enjoy this form of painting. Bring your own materials or choose the option to purchase basic materials from the instructor to use and take with you at the end of class. Basic materials include a set of beginner brushes, small sample of paints and paper. 

Learn some concepts and examples from queer ecology with Kati Henderson, Duke Gardens educator, and put them to practical use in finding a personal home within environmental relationships. Build your understanding of the immense diversity and interconnections in the living world while we practice ways to build strong networks with each other, and the plants and environment around us.