Join us for a range of engaging programs that will deepen your connection to plants, expand your gardening skills and introduce you to new ways of learning.
You’ll find plant-inspired programs to engage your mind and body that take place onsite, offsite and virtually. Registration is open now, and a few more programs will be added throughout the season.     Â
If you have already registered for a program in 2026 and would like to register for more, you will need your confirmation code included in previous registration emails. For assistance and to cancel your registration in accordance with our refund, cancellation and privacy policies, please email GardensEducation@duke.edu or call 919-668-1707.
Upcoming Adult Education Programs
Interested in Japanese Tea Gatherings? Click here for more information.
Pruning with Confidence: Small Trees and Shrubs
Pruning with Confidence: Small Trees and Shrubs
Whether you've been nervously eyeing an overgrown branch or just want to keep your trees healthy and beautiful for years to come, this practical pruning workshop with Bobby Mottern, director of hortic...
Harvest Festival
Harvest Festival
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 ...
On the Rocks: A Scree & Crevice Garden Tour
On the Rocks: A Scree & Crevice Garden Tour
At first glance, a pile of rocks seems like the last place a plant would want to call home—yet the scree and crevice gardens at Duke Gardens are bursting with an array of tenacious, beautiful and cl...
Meet the Keepers
Meet the Keepers
Plan your visit to include a stop in the Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden for this special opportunity to meet the keepers of the bees, chickens and incredible edible plants in this garden area belove...
Hearty Landscapes: Foodscaping for Joy, Beauty & Abundance
Hearty Landscapes: Foodscaping for Joy, Beauty & Abundance
Learn how to transform any yard, large or small, into a beautiful, productive edible landscape. This presentation with Brittaney Whitenhill of Our-Backyard.org introduces the core principles of foodsc...
Japanese Tea Gathering: Moon Viewing Tea
Japanese Tea Gathering: Moon Viewing Tea
Join tea master 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 Japanes...
Meet the Keepers
Meet the Keepers
Plan your visit to include a stop in the Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden for this special opportunity to meet the keepers of the bees, chickens and incredible edible plants in this garden area belove...
Mixed-Media Floral Greeting Cards
Mixed-Media Floral Greeting Cards
In this guided mixed-media workshop with Patricia Efunsade, founder and creative director of SaKredJoi Art, participants will create a series of botanically inspired greeting cards using a simple and ...
Mum’s the Word: Special Walking Tour of Show Chrysanthemums (Oct.)
Mum’s the Word: Special Walking Tour of Show Chrysanthemums (Oct.)
Mums can be carefully cultivated to produce amazingly large blooms in a spectacular range of flower types and colors. Learn what makes display mums so special as Michelle Rawlins, Ruth Mary Meyer Japa...
Botanizing at Occoneechee Mountain
Botanizing at Occoneechee Mountain
This North Carolina State Natural Area is a gem, with a diversity of natural plant and animal communities not found anywhere else in the Triangle region. Join Paul Manos, Duke biology professor and Du...
Build a Bug Snug
Build a Bug Snug
Support winter wildlife and re-purpose garden cuttings with a bug snug, an easy-to-make sculptural structure made of twigs and stems that provides a place for insects and invertebrates to overwinter.Â...
Walk on the Wild Side
Walk on the Wild Side
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...
Meet the Keepers
Meet the Keepers
Plan your visit to include a stop in the Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden for this special opportunity to meet the keepers of the bees, chickens and incredible edible plants in this garden area belove...
Mum’s the Word: Special Walking Tour of Show Chrysanthemums (Nov.)
Mum’s the Word: Special Walking Tour of Show Chrysanthemums (Nov.)
Mums can be carefully cultivated to produce amazingly large blooms in a spectacular range of flower types and colors. Learn what makes display mums so special as Michelle Rawlins, Ruth Mary Meyer Japa...
A Festival of Fabulous Mums
A Festival of Fabulous Mums
Enjoy an explosion of color this fall during A Festival of Fabulous Mums at Duke Gardens. Exhibition mums will create a dazzling floral display outdoors at the Ruth Mary Meyer Japanese Garden in the C...
A Festival of Fabulous Mums
A Festival of Fabulous Mums
Enjoy an explosion of color this fall during A Festival of Fabulous Mums at Duke Gardens. Exhibition mums will create a dazzling floral display outdoors at the Ruth Mary Meyer Japanese Garden in the C...
Festival of Fabulous Mums: Basic Floral Design with Patty Stimmel (Sat.)
Festival of Fabulous Mums: Basic Floral Design with Patty Stimmel (Sat.)
Join us for a series of free demonstrations and workshops during the Festival of Fabulous Mums at Duke Gardens! In this session, learn the basics of floral design from retired floral designer Patty St...
Festival of Fabulous Mums: The 13 Classes of Rare & Heirloom Chrysanthemums with Margie Case
Festival of Fabulous Mums: The 13 Classes of Rare & Heirloom Chrysanthemums with Margie Case
Join us for a series of free demonstrations and workshops during the Festival of Fabulous Mums at Duke Gardens! In this session, Margie Case will describe and explain the 13 classes of chrysanthemums....
Pruning with Confidence: Small Trees and Shrubs
Pruning with Confidence: Small Trees and Shrubs
Whether you've been nervously eyeing an overgrown branch or just want to keep your trees healthy and beautiful for years to come, this practical pruning workshop with Bobby Mottern, director of horticulture at Duke Gardens, gives you the knowledge and confidence to pick...
Harvest Festival
Harvest Festival
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 of all ages together. Children must be accompa...
On the Rocks: A Scree & Crevice Garden Tour
On the Rocks: A Scree & Crevice Garden Tour
At first glance, a pile of rocks seems like the last place a plant would want to call home—yet the scree and crevice gardens at Duke Gardens are bursting with an array of tenacious, beautiful and cleverly adapted plants. Join Branden Kowalyszyn, horticulturist of the ...
Meet the Keepers
Meet the Keepers
Plan your visit to include a stop in the Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden for this special opportunity to meet the keepers of the bees, chickens and incredible edible plants in this garden area beloved by learners of all ages. Look for horticulture staff or volunteers i...
Hearty Landscapes: Foodscaping for Joy, Beauty & Abundance
Hearty Landscapes: Foodscaping for Joy, Beauty & Abundance
Learn how to transform any yard, large or small, into a beautiful, productive edible landscape. This presentation with Brittaney Whitenhill of Our-Backyard.org introduces the core principles of foodscaping—integrating vegetables, herbs, fruits and pollinator plants in...
Pruning with Confidence: Small Trees and Shrubs
Pruning with Confidence: Small Trees and Shrubs
Whether you've been nervously eyeing an overgrown branch or just want to keep your trees healthy and beautiful for years to come, this practical pruning workshop with Bobby Mottern, director of horticulture at Duke Gardens, gives you the knowledge and confidence to pick...
Harvest Festival
Harvest Festival
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 of all ages together. Children must be accompa...
On the Rocks: A Scree & Crevice Garden Tour
On the Rocks: A Scree & Crevice Garden Tour
At first glance, a pile of rocks seems like the last place a plant would want to call home—yet the scree and crevice gardens at Duke Gardens are bursting with an array of tenacious, beautiful and cleverly adapted plants. Join Branden Kowalyszyn, horticulturist of the ...
Meet the Keepers
Meet the Keepers
Plan your visit to include a stop in the Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden for this special opportunity to meet the keepers of the bees, chickens and incredible edible plants in this garden area beloved by learners of all ages. Look for horticulture staff or volunteers i...
Hearty Landscapes: Foodscaping for Joy, Beauty & Abundance
Hearty Landscapes: Foodscaping for Joy, Beauty & Abundance
Learn how to transform any yard, large or small, into a beautiful, productive edible landscape. This presentation with Brittaney Whitenhill of Our-Backyard.org introduces the core principles of foodscaping—integrating vegetables, herbs, fruits and pollinator plants in...
Adult Education Calendar
Please click the blue rectangles on the calendar below to learn more about upcoming events.
Japanese Tea Gatherings Duke Gardens is delighted to host Japanese tea gatherings in the Durham-Toyama Sister Cities Pavilion & Garden a few times per year, depending on the availability of the Japanese Tea Practitioners of Durham, who are the hostesses of the teas. The dates are decided as the year progresses, and registration is available on our website. The tea gatherings have a very small capacity (usually 6-8 participants) and nearly always sell out quickly. Please check our Adult Education webpage to see when teas have been added. You can also subscribe to our free monthly e-newsletter using this form to learn more about what’s happening in the gardens.
Learn More About the Durham-Toyama Sister Cities Pavilion & Garden at Duke Gardens ›
Video Highlights
Enjoy these how-to highlights from our YouTube channel, where you will find more video resources to continue your Gardens learning journey at any time, in any location.
Video Highlights
Enjoy these how-to highlights from our YouTube channel, where you will find more video resources to continue your Gardens learning journey at any time, in any location.
Visit our resource library for more learning opportunities, from nature meditations to collaborative science and so much more.
Learn More ›
Questions about adult education?
Please contact us at 919-668-1707 or GardensEducation@duke.edu.