September activities at Duke Gardens

We hope you’ll join us in the Gardens this month for some of our many classes and special events. Here’s our schedule:

Fall Plant & Craft Festival

Sept. 26, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Join Sarah P. Duke Gardens as it celebrates 75 years of showcasing the beauty of nature. The Gardens and guest vendors will sell an array of plants appropriate for this region, including plants featured in Duke Gardens. Local artisans will sell garden-related gift items. And you can also get free horticultural advice from the staff and Durham County Master Gardeners. Join Friends of the Gardens for an invitation to the preview sale Sept. 25.
More event information here.

Free Movies in the Gardens by Twilight
(Due to rain 8/5 & 8/12, films were bumped a week; new schedule reflected below)
Sept. 2: "The Music Man" (1962).
Sept. 9: "Mary Poppins" (1964).

Films will be shown on the South Lawn and start when darkness falls (8-8:30 p.m.) Picnics are welcome. Refreshments will be sold. Rain dates are one week later. Check our Twitter if the weather is iffy.

Wine Tasting: A Toast to the Harvest
Sept. 20, 3-5 p.m. Celebrate the harvest season and sample some exciting new wines. Visit with friends in a lovely garden setting as you enjoy a glass of Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and others. We will offer an array of hors d'oeuvres along with the wine and information about grape varieties, vintage and availability. $10; $15 for couples. Pre-register at 668-1707.

Free tours

Water Lily Walks with aquatic plants specialist Tamara Kilbane, 9 a.m. Sept. 3 & 17. Rain or shine. Meet at the Doris Duke Center. More info here.

Walk on the Wild Side tour with Stefan Bloodworth, curator of the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants, Sept. 3, 11 a.m.-noon. Rain or shine. Meet at the Blomquist gatehouse. This tour will recur throughout the year on the first Thursday of every month. More info here.

Bird Walk with Cynthia Fox, of Chapel Hill's Wild Bird Center, Sept. 12, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Please bring binoculars. Children are welcome if they are 8 years old or older. Meet at the Doris Duke Center. If the weather is iffy, please call Alice Le Duc at 730-2503 to check the status of the walk.
Please pre-register for the free walks at 668-1707.

Nature Ranger Cart
Look for the colorful cart at the foot of the Terrace Gardens on Fridays in September and October. It's full of simple and fun activities for children. Play flower bingo or make pressed flower bookmarks, paper butterflies, pond life pictures and bark, insect or leaf rubbings. Or get some nutritious food for the Gardens' ducks. Free.

Free Sunday drop-in program for children

Sept 27, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.: Leaf and flower pounding. Create a botanical kitchen towel.

Sunday drop-ins will continue through the end of October and then begin again in May. Programs run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Dawn Redwood near the foot of the Terrace Garden.


Classes & children’s activities

Boxwoods: Care and Maintenance (Sept. 10; eligible for CEU credits); Story Time for children (Sept. 12); Photographing Butterflies & Birds (Sept. 12-13); Successful Gardener Seminar: Gardening 101 (Sept. 13; free); Triangle Orchid Society meeting (Sept. 14; free); Introduction to Flowering Plant Families (Sept. 14-15); Perennial Garden Design & Plant Selection (Sept. 17 & 23; eligible for CEU credits); Winter Container Gardens (Sept. 22).
See our brochure here for details. Also, ask about children’s activity backpack rentals and Tuesday-Thursday morning school programs.
*Pre-registration is required, even for free courses. Please call 668-1707.

Looking ahead:
Coming in October: free tours of the Culberson Asiatic Arboretum.


And please mark your calendars for our two Arts in the Garden fall shows, fun family performances at the Doris Duke Center. Shows are at 11 a.m. Tickets are $8, available at http://tickets.duke.edu or by calling (919) 684-4444.

Oct. 24: Opera Express, Opera Carolina's educational touring company, presents its brand new production, "Jack and the Beanstalk." Read more about Opera Express here.
Here's an Opera Express rehearsal shot from "Beanstalk."


Nov. 7: Storyteller Louise Omoto Kessel with percussionist Beverly Botsford. Read about Louise here.