Making Botany Come Alive

Gain a deeper understanding of plant parts and their roles in "Basic Botany."
Photo by Bill Snead.

Lots of people like to garden, and many appreciate a beautiful garden design, but how many know exactly how plants manage water and nutrients? What makes them grow bigger flowers or juicier fruits? If you have ever wondered about these things, consider joining us for Alec Motten's "Basic Botany and Plant Growth" class beginning on Thursday, Feb. 15, from 6-9 p.m.

Motten is a distinguished associate professor emeritus in Duke's Department of Biology, and his passion and engaging way of teaching also made him a quick favorite among Duke Gardens instructors. You'll see why if you take his class. In the meantime, Motten offered some insights about himself and his love for plants in the following email exchange from 2016:

Alec poses with a beautiful friend.

Tell us about your background and experience.
I earned my Ph.D. in zoology at Duke in 1982 and received undergraduate degrees in botany from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1970 and in zoology from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1976. I've always straddled the line between traditional botanist and zoologist designations and consider myself an equal-opportunity natural historian.

My primary responsibility at Duke has been teaching undergraduates an array of courses, including introductory biology, organismal diversity, botany, ecology, and genetics and evolution. I've also taught writing for first-year students and senior biology majors. My research interests are in evolutionary biology, pollination ecology and plant reproductive biology.

For my doctoral dissertation I studied plant-pollinator interactions in the spring wildflower community of Duke Forest. I still consider March and April my favorite time to be in the woods, and I like to lead spring wildflower hikes to local natural areas.

In my spare time, I enjoy hiking, camping and canoeing. During travels in the U.S. and abroad, I look forward to opportunities to learn the local flora and fauna and indulge my interest in wildlife and nature photography.

Learn how plants manage water in response
to the environment. Photo by Orla Swift.

What can we expect from your class, and what do you hope participants will gain from it?
Students in the class will get a whirlwind tour of basic plant biology and learn how plants are put together, how they function, grow and reproduce, and how they interact in different ways with animals. Extensive, colorful handouts will be provided to help students follow along with the many different topics we'll cover.  I'll also bring in live specimens and lots of demonstration materials for hands-on activities and student personal observations.

Although any science class necessarily includes a certain amount of jargon, I'll keep that to a minimum and make sure to explain technical terms in language accessible to a non-specialist. My experience is that folks taking this class all have some interest in plants, often from a gardening or environmental conservation perspective, and my hope is to expand on that interest by helping students make connections with aspects of plant biology they are less familiar with. Plants are often taken for granted in our society -- they can be the unnoticed "wallpaper" of our world -- and I'd like to provide a deeper appreciation of just how amazing plant biology can be.

Learn how the structures of plants attract specific 
pollinators. Photo by Annabel Renwick.

What are you most excited about in this class?
In a time when much of academia is caught up in either increasingly narrowly focused topics or trendy multi/inter/cross-disciplinary studies, it is refreshing to teach a rather more traditional subject and help students delve into it with fresh eyes and new curiosity.  I always look forward to this opportunity to share my enthusiasm for botany with willing, interested students in a largely informal, relaxed setting -- no quizzes or papers! And, without a set curriculum to cover for an exam, I like being able to go off on botanically oriented tangents as student interests and unexpected opportunities may lead. The students and I always learn something new!

Motten's class meets for four Thursday night sessions, from Feb. 15 to March 8, from 6-9 p.m. If you are interested in learning more, please check out the class description for "Basic Botany and Plant Growth" on our website. To register, please call 919-668-1707 or send us an email. We look forward to seeing you!

This article is adapted from a 2016 post by Sarah Leach Smith.

Making Botany Come Alive

By Sarah Leach Smith, Visitor Services Coordinator

Lots of people like to garden, and many appreciate a beautiful garden design, but how many know exactly how plants manage water and nutrients? What makes them grow bigger flowers or juicier fruits? If you have ever wondered about these things like I have, consider joining our upcoming class series "Basic Botany and Plant Growth," starting Tuesday, February 16.

Dr. Motten, relaxing with a sea lion in the Galapagos!

I know what you're thinking - even though this sounds like a fascinating topic, it may be a bit dry, depending on the instructor. Fear not! We are proud to introduce you to Alec Motten, a professor in the Duke Biology Department. Professor Motten and I exchanged emails last week, and he gave me some insight into himself and this wonderful class. 

Tell us about your background and experience.
I earned my Ph.D. in zoology at Duke in 1982 and received undergraduate degrees in botany from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1970 and in zoology from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1976.  I've always straddled the line between traditional botanist and zoologist designations and consider myself an equal-opportunity natural historian.

My primary responsibility at Duke has been teaching undergraduates an array of courses, including introductory biology, organismal diversity, botany, ecology, and genetics and evolution. I've also taught writing for first-year students and senior biology majors. This spring will be my fourth time offering the "Basic Botany and Plant Growth" course at Duke Gardens.  My research interests are in evolutionary biology, pollination ecology and plant reproductive biology. 

For my doctoral dissertation I studied plant-pollinator interactions in the spring wildflower community of Duke Forest. I still consider March and April my favorite time to be in the woods, and I like to lead spring wildflower hikes to local natural areas. 

In my spare time, I enjoy hiking, camping and canoeing.  During travels in the U.S. and abroad I look forward to opportunities to learn the local flora and fauna and indulge my interest in wildlife and nature photography. 

Photo by Jie Huang.

What can we expect from your class, and what do you hope participants will gain from it?

Students in the class will get a whirlwind tour of basic plant biology and learn how plants are put together, how they function, grow and reproduce, and how they interact in different ways with animals. Extensive, colorful handouts will be provided to help students follow along with the many different topics we'll cover.  I'll also bring in live specimens and lots of demonstration materials for hands-on activities and student personal observations.  

Although any science class necessarily includes a certain amount of jargon, I'll keep that to a minimum and make sure to explain technical terms in language accessible to a non-specialist. My experience is that folks taking this class all have some interest in plants, often from a gardening or environmental conservation perspective, and my hope is to expand on that interest by helping students make connections with aspects of plant biology they are less familiar with. Plants are often taken for granted in our society -- they can be the unnoticed "wallpaper" of our world -- and I'd like to provide a deeper appreciation of just how amazing plant biology can be.

Photo by Bill Snead.

What are you most excited about in this class?

In a time when much of academia is caught up in either increasingly narrowly focused topics or trendy multi/inter/cross-disciplinary studies, it is refreshing to teach a rather more traditional subject and help students delve into it with fresh eyes and new curiosity.  I always look forward to this opportunity to share my enthusiasm for botany with willing, interested students in a largely informal, relaxed setting -- no quizzes or papers! And, without a set curriculum to cover for an exam, I like being able to go off on botanically oriented tangents as student interests and unexpected opportunities may lead. The students and I always learn something new!

If you are interested in learning more, please check out the class description for "Basic Botany and Plant Growth" on our website. To register, please call 919-668-1707 or email. We look forward to seeing you!

The Beauty of Autumn – and the Science Behind It

By Ashley Wong (T'16)

Culberson Asiatic Arboretum

Anyone who has taken a stroll through Duke Gardens within the past few weeks can resoundingly attest that fall is in full swing.

Now that the foliage has taken an autumnal turn and the air holds a pre-winter crispness, you may have wondered about the processes governing nature’s lovely color transformation that we witness at this time every year. It’s a phenomenon poignant enough to have inspired countless works of literature by writers and philosophers -- so poignant that renowned autumn-enthusiast Henry David Thoreau notably wrote an entire journal chronicling his observations of autumnal beauty as an homage to the season.

The Spring Woodland Garden

Unsurprisingly, the transformation of green leaves into sundry shades of red, orange, yellow, and brown has evolved into a particularly lucrative tourist attraction over the years. Autumn-inspired tourism, an activity so prominent that it has earned the name “leaf peeping tourism,” brings in approximately $1 billion dollars in revenue to North Carolina each year, a sizable chunk of its more than $20 billion dollar annual tourism income. Luckily for us, North Carolina seems to be a prime location for admiring fall foliage.

Blomquist Garden. Photo by Micaela Unda.

So what are the biochemical processes that lead to this revenue-boosting spectacle? Stefan Bloodworth, curator of the Blomquist Garden, recently presented a lecture on the biochemistry of fall color for Duke Gardens volunteers. He says that the onset of fall color is essentially a signal that photosynthesis has ended for the year.

As the number of daylight hours dwindles, the energy cost of photosynthesizing begins to climb, since the inputs of sunlight and warmth that are necessary for photosynthesis are no longer steadily coming in. Thus, plants are triggered to stop producing chlorophyll, which absorbs red and blue light and reflects the leafy green for us to see. In addition, the plant grows a corky membrane between the leaf and the tree, essentially cutting off support of the leaf. At this point, we begin to see pigments that have been there throughout the growing season but were masked by chlorophyll the rest of the year.

One class of pigments, carotenoids, helps enhance the annual photosynthetic process by allowing the leaf to absorb light from the blue spectrum. Carotenoids have an additional part to play as well: acting in a photoprotective role throughout the growing season. Carotenoids protect leaves by cleaning up free oxygen radicals within the leaf. Also, as the level of sunlight declines, excess energy can build up and harm the leaf; carotenoids help in dissipating that energy as heat. This class of pigments is predominantly responsible for the vibrant orange and yellow hues associated with autumn foliage. 

But what about the purple and red colors? Anthocyanins, another class of pigments, are responsible for those hues, and they also emerge after photosynthesis ends and chlorophyll is no longer present. These pigments absorb blue-green light wavelengths, allowing the red wavelengths to be visible to us as red. Anthocyanins are also integral to photoprotection, acting as light screens to modulate light absorption and minimize the damage from too much sunlight. We have these molecules to thank for our visual and emotional pleasure every autumn. 

So even as the end of fall semester approaches and work inevitably begins to pile up (mercilessly so), take a minute to step outside and absorb the brilliant autumn coloration surrounds you – believe me, it’ll be worth it.

Japanese maple in the Historic Gardens. Photo by Lori Sullivan.

Blogger Ashley Wong is a Duke senior majoring in environmental studies, with minors in biology and visual & media studies. She is also a Duke Gardens work-study marketing assistant. All photos by Ashley Wong except where noted.

Duke Gardens events: Jan.-Aug. 2012

Sarah P. Duke Gardens’ new education guide is now online. The PDF includes class descriptions, instructor information, meeting times/locations and fees for all classes between January and August 2012.

Below is a quick rundown of the season’s offerings, including page numbers where you can find more information. Please also see our education/events page with links to different types of classes and events and information about how to register.

As always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions for our enrichment programs. We hope to see you here soon!

Children and Family Classes

Mysteries of Magnetism (Feb. 25) – pg. 6

Nature’s Kazoos (March 10) – pg. 5 (canceled)

Nature Storytime: Free Drop-in Book Club (March 15, April 7, May 5, May 17, June 2, and June 21) – pg. 7

Wind World (March 24) – pg. 5

Nature Ranger Cart: Free Drop-in Activities (Fridays, April, May, and June) – pg. 7

Nature for Sprouts (Fridays, April 6-27 or May 4-25) – pg. 7

Feathered Friends (April 7) – pg. 5

Nature for Sprouts (Fridays, April 6-27 or May 4-25) – pg. 4

Nature Adventures Camp: CAMP OUT! (April 9-13) – pg. 8

Spring Family Fun: Free Drop-in Activities (April 15 & 29, May 6 & 20) – pg. 7

Heroes and Villains (April 25) – pg. 6

Drip Drop: Be a Raindrop for a Day (April 28) – pg. 5

Seed and Soil Olympics (May 5) – pg. 6

Awesome Amoebas (May 26) – pg. 6

Paperhand Puppet Intervention (June 10) – pg. 7. Canceled by the artists. Sorry.

Nature Adventures Camp: Become a Scientist (June 11-15) – pg. 8

Nature Adventures Camp: Treasure Hunters (June 18-22) – pg. 8

Nature Adventures Camp: Science of the Sun (June 18-22) – pg. 8

Nature Adventures Camp: Animal Homes (June 25-29) – pg. 9

Nature Adventures Camp: Animals in the Garden (June 25-29) – pg. 9

Nature Adventures Camp: Treasure Hunters 2 (July 9-13) – pg. 9

Nature Adventures Camp: Time Travelers (July 9-13) – pg. 9

Nature Adventures Camp: Drawing on Nature (Aug. 6-10 and/or Aug. 13-17) – pg. 9

Gardening and Horticulture

Ikebana International club (2nd Monday monthly) – pg. 24

Triangle Orchid Society (2nd Monday monthly) – pg. 24

Durham Garden Forum: “A Garden of Moss” (Jan. 17) – pg. 18

Planting the Landscape: Design II (3 Tuesdays, Jan. 17-31) – pg. 14

Plants of Distinction: Winter/Spring (Jan. 18, March 7, May 16, July 18) – pg. 14

Vegetable Gardening Through the Year (3 Thursdays, Jan. 19-Feb. 2; March 22-April 5) – pg. 15

Gardening with Herbs (Jan. 22; part of the Master Gardeners’ Extension Gardener Series) – pg. 19
Beekeeping for Beginners (2 Saturdays, Feb. 4-11) – pg. 15

Durham Garden Forum: “Great Perennials for the Garden Bed” (Feb. 21) – pg. 18

Native Plants in our Gardens (Feb. 26; part of the Master Gardeners’ Extension Gardener Series) – pg. 19

Spring Flower Walk in the Arboretum (March 9 and/or April 13) – pg. 13

Container Gardening (March 18; part of the Master Gardeners’ Extension Gardener Series) – pg. 19

Durham Garden Forum: “Herb Gardening” (March 20) – pg. 18

Historic Gardens Color Walk (April 5 and/or May 3) – pg. 13

Lecture: "Across the Pond: A Celebration of 300 Years of Anglo-American Gardening" (April 5) – pg. 16

Spring Pruning (April 7) – pg. 16

Durham Garden Forum: “Vegetables as Ornament” (April 17) – pg. 18

Durham Garden Forum: “Introduction to Plant Propagation” (May 15) – pg. 18

Japanese Gardens in the U.S.: Growing from Cultural Outreach to Community Restoration (May 15, 7-9 p.m.; newly added program).

Durham Garden Forum: “Garden Advice Fair” (July 17) – pg. 18

Durham Garden Forum: “Creating New Plants” (June 19) – pg. 18

Field Trips

Early Spring Jewels: Field Studies (March 31) – pg. 28

Local Flora: Spring (4 Saturdays, April 7, 14, 28, May 5) – pg. 29

Wildflowers and Waterfalls (May 11-13) – pg. 20

Hemlock Bluff (June 3) – pg. 21

Botanical Art and Craft

Moss Gardens in a Dish (Jan. 21) – pg. 25

Creating Your Own Bonsai Plant (Feb. 18) – pg. 25

Designing with Flowers (6 Saturdays, Feb. 25-March 31) – pg. 26

Spring Flower Basket (April 5) – pg. 25

Creativity and Choice: Floral Design Studio (canceled) – pg. 26

Terrarium (June 9) – pg. 26

Natural History

Walk on the Wild Side (Jan. 5, Feb. 2, March 1, April 5, May 3, June 7, July 5, Aug. 2) – pg. 13

Winter Botany (2 Saturdays, Jan. 21-28) – pg. 27

Human Impact on the Environment: The Ecology of Change (4 Wednesdays, Feb. 8-29) – pg. 27

Basic Botany and Plant Growth (4 Thursdays, Feb. 9-March 1) – pg. 28

Water: The Ecology of Change (4 Tuesdays, Feb. 21-March 13) – pg. 28

Early Spring Jewels: Field Studies (March 31) – pg. 28

Local Flora: Spring (4 Saturdays, April 7, 14, 28, May 5) – pg. 29

Bird Walks (April 7 & 28) – pg. 29

Nature Photography

Durham Photography Club (2nd Monday monthly) – pg. 24 (info on their Facebook page)

Digital Photography: Understanding Digital Camera, Camera to Computer & Photo Editing (3 Wednesdays, Jan. 18-Feb. 1) – pg. 31

Nature Photography Winter Workshop (Jan 28-29) – pg. 30

Introduction to Nature Photography (Feb. 10-12) – pg. 31

Photoshop for the Nature Photographer (3 Saturdays, Feb. 11-25) – pg. 31

Learn from the Masters (3 Saturdays, March 31-April 14) – pg. 32

Photographing Plants (2 Wednesdays, May 16 & 23, and Saturday, May 19) – pg. 32

Composition and Light (2 Thursdays, June 14 & 21, and Saturday, June 16) – pg. 32

Image Improvement Before Post-Processing (Saturday, June 23) – pg. 33

Photographing North Carolina (July 12, 7-9 p.m.; newly added program)

Japanese Tea Gatherings

First Voice of Spring Tea (Friday, Feb. 24) – pg. 34

St. Patrick’s Day Tea (Saturday, March 17) – pg. 34

Cherry Blossom Festival (Sunday, March 25) – pg. 34

Spring Blossoms Tea (Friday, April 13) – pg. 34

Children’s Day Tea (Saturday, May 5) – pg. 34

Special Events

Swing at the Gardens - swing dance (Saturday, Feb. 11)

Spring Plant Sale (Saturday, March 31, 8 a.m.-noon; Gardens member pre-sale, March 30)

Duke Performances' Music in the Gardens summer series (more info)

Annuals or Perennials?

The echinacea coneflower is among perennials
that live for a long time.

By Lauren Sims
Photo by Alice Le Duc

As we prepare to flip to the next page on the calendar, we are reminded that spring is inching ever closer. That means it’s time to start thinking about our spring gardens, and one of our initial planting questions may be, “Annuals or perennials?”

Bill Cullina, author of Understanding Perennials: A New Look at an Old Favorite and other plant books, and director of horticulture at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, would have us ask an even more fundamental question first: "What does it mean for a plant to be perennial, anyway?"

Often, says Cullina, people operate under the assumption that “perennial” indicates a plant that continues to grow and bloom for many years. While some perennials do last for generations, many of them only live for a few years. Perennial plants must store away enough energy to survive months of dormancy every year and regenerate the following season. This is a costly process, and many of the plant’s resources are invested in preparing for and living through this dormant period.

Annuals, on the other hand, have no need to store energy or conserve resources. They give everything they have for a short period of time, burning brightly but extinguishing quickly. The biological strategy for annuals is to produce the most seed possible.

“So it’s hard to find perennials that bloom the way an annual plant does or a tropical plant does, that doesn’t have to worry about stocking things away for the dormant season,” says Cullina, whom local gardeners may recall from his days as nursery manager at Chapel Hill's Niche Gardens.

“The idea of the non-stop blooming perennial, while there are a few things that might fall under that category, is sort of a pipe dream because when it’s blooming it’s using up its resources.”

To learn more about perennial plants and the design opportunities they offer, join Bill Cullina on Feb. 12 from 3-5 p.m. for “The Botany of Design” presentation at Duke Gardens. Cullina will also do a 9 a.m.-noon workshop for a small group titled “Beyond the Surface: Soil Demystified.”

The fee for “The Botany of Design” is $35; $30 for Gardens members. The soils workshop is $70; $55 for members. For more information or to register, please call 668-1707 or e-mail registrar Sara Smith. Please also see our online education booklet (PDF) for other discovery programs for adults and children.

Sarah P. Duke Gardens creates and nurtures an environment in the heart of Duke University for learning, inspiration and enjoyment through excellence in horticulture. The Gardens is at 420 Anderson St.

Lauren Sims is a graduate student at Duke Divinity School and a work-study assistant at Duke Gardens.

Duke Gardens: Exploring Winter Botany

Article by Lauren Sims
Photos by Rick Fisher

For many, a walk through the woods to identify plants is an activity restricted to the spring and summer seasons. Plants, after all, are identified by their leaves—nature must be in bloom in order to learn about them. Right? Not so fast, says Ken Moore.

“Take a walk in the woods in the wintertime, and try and contrast it with a similar walk that you would make in the middle of the summer,” says Moore, the former assistant director of the N.C. Botanical Garden. “In the wintertime, you don’t have all those leaves on the trees. So you can really see the whole nature of the landscape. You can see the ups and downs, you see the beautiful architecture of the whole forest.”
A forest is lovely in the summer, Moore says. But despite the cool shade and the vibrant greens, “you can’t really see the forest because of the leaves. You’re so busy looking at the color of trees and flowers and the texture of ferns, you’re sort of unaware of the characteristics of individual plants.”

“With all the leaves gone, you’re forced to concentrate on other aspects of the plants,” he says. And, surprisingly, bare branches can actually be more clearly identifiable than foliage. According to Moore, leaves on the same plant may vary widely in their color, their size and even in their shape. In many cases, using them for identification purposes can be more confusing than helpful. More stable identifiers like bark and the configuration of buds at the ends of branches are often a surer bet, and they are showcased during the winter months.
Winter may appear to be a barren or uninteresting season for nature lovers, but do not be fooled. There is much to learn about your favorite plants this time of year. In fact, you may come to prize those winter nature walks even more than their summer counterparts.

“Most of us walk around in the winter saying, ‘I don’t know what any of these things are, I’ll have to wait until the leaves come out so I can tell you.’ My feeling is, ‘I can’t wait until the leaves all fall off, and then I can have the forest back!’ ”
To learn more about nature in winter, consider taking Moore’s “Winter Botany” 2-day class at Duke Gardens on Jan. 23 and 30 from 1 to 4 p.m. For information or to register, call 668-1707, e-mail the registrar or see page 12 of our full education brochure (PDF).
Sarah P. Duke Gardens creates and nurtures an environment in the heart of Duke University for learning, inspiration and enjoyment through excellence in horticulture. The Gardens is at 420 Anderson St.

Lauren Sims is a graduate student at Duke Divinity School and a work-study assistant at Duke Gardens. This article first appeared in The Herald-Sun on Jan. 15.

Duke Gardens: 2011 events schedule

(Update 6/1/11: Please see our fall/winter 2011 schedule on this blog post)

Sarah P. Duke Gardens’ new education guide is now online. The PDF includes class descriptions, instructor information, meeting times/locations and fees for all classes between January 1 and June 30, 2011, plus summer camp.

Below is a quick rundown of the season’s offerings, including page numbers where you can find more information in our full guide.

(*4/14/11 update: for those seeking information about our outdoor movie series Movies in the Gardens at Twilight, we'll have 2011 information soon. But the theme is animation and the films will be on the four Thursdays in August. We'll also have a special showing of "Play Again," a documentary about the consequences of a childhood removed from nature, on Sept. 15, in partnership with Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment. All films are free and for all ages.)

Remember, if you join Friends of Duke Gardens, you'll get a discount on all classes, among other perks. Duke faculty, staff & students also get the Friends rate.

To register, please e-mail Jan Little or call 668-5309. You can also mail our registration form to Jan Little, Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Box 90341, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0341.

Gardening and Horticulture

· Maintaining the Land: Landscape Maintenance and Management (Jan. 9; part of the Master Gardeners’ Extension Gardener Series)—pg. 7
· Durham Garden Forum: container vegetable gardens (Jan. 18)—pg. 9
· Planting the Landscape: Design II (3-class course, Jan. 20-Feb. 3)—pg. 2
· Beyond the Surface: Soil Demystified, with author William Cullina (Feb. 12)—pg. 2
· The Botany of Design, with William Cullina (Feb. 12)—pg. 3
· Durham Garden Forum: deer-resistant plants (Feb. 15)—pg. 9 (special free admission)
· Permaculture (Feb. 20; part of the Master Gardeners’ Extension Gardener Series)—pg. 7
· Rose Care and Pruning (Feb. 24)—pg. 6
· Spring Pruning (March 10)—pg. 3
· Durham Garden Forum: summer and fall bulbs (March 15)—pg. 9
· Cool Perennials for Cool Places (March 20; part of the Master Gardeners’ Extension Gardener Series)—pg. 7
· Season-Long Bloom (April 5)—pg. 3
· The Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature and the Shaping of the American Nation, with author Andrea Wulf (April 14)—pg. 4 (Read more here)
· Landscape Plants for N.C. Gardens: Spring (4-class course, April 14-May 5)—pg. 5
· J.C. Raulston Arboretum Tour (April 17)—pg. 8
· Durham Garden Forum: tropical trends (April 19)—pg. 9
· Spring Plant Sale (April 30). More info.
· Durham Garden Forum: making the grade (May 17)—pg. 9
· Montrose Gardens Tour (May 20)—pg. 9
· Landscape Plants for N.C. Gardens: Summer (4-class course, June 2-23)—pg. 5
· Basic Botany and Plant Growth (4-class course, June 4-25)—pg. 5
· Herbs from the Garden (June 17)—pg. 8
· Durham Garden Forum: container gardening (June 21)—pg. 9

Botanical Art and Craft

· Ikebana Demonstration (Feb. 23)—pg. 10
· Spring Flower Basket (April 21)—pg. 10
· Floral Design for Fun (6-class course, April 22-May 27)—pg. 10
· Drawing from Nature (5-class course, April 28-May 26)—pg. 11
· Herb Planter (May 5)—pg. 11
· Create a Living Carpet: Sedums and Succulents (May 19)—pg. 11
· Buy, Draw, Eat (June 2)—pg 11
· Floral Design II (4-class course, June 3-24)—pg. 10

Natural History

· Walk on the Wild Side (Blomquist tour; 1st Thursdays, Jan. 6, Feb. 3, March 3, April 7, May 5, or June 2)—pg. 17
· Winter Botany (2-class course, Jan. 23 and 30)—pg 12
· Geology: The Ecology of Change (3-class course, Feb. 9-March 9)—pg. 13
· UNC Herbarium Tour (Feb. 26)—pg. 13
· Duke Herbarium Tour (March 4)—pg. 13
· Early Spring Jewels: Field Studies Trip (March 27)—pg. 16
· Herp Hunt: Field Studies Trip (April 2)—pg. 16
· Local Flora: Spring (4-class course, April 2-May 14)—pg. 16
· Bird Walks (April 9 or April 30)—pg. 17
· Drawing from Nature (5-class course, April 28-May 26)—pg. 17

Nature Photography

· Digital Photography: Understanding Digital Camera, Camera to Computer & Photo Editing (beginner level; 3-class course, Jan. 20-Feb. 3)—pg. 18
· Photoshop for the Nature Photographer - *canceled* - (3-class course, Feb. 11-25)—pg. 19
· The Impact of Nature Photography (3-class course, Feb. 22-March 8)—pg. 19
· Spring Awakening: Close-up Strategies (March 26)—pg. 19
· Intro to Nature Photography (2-class course, April 26 & May 3)—pg. 20
· Photographing Plants (2-class course, May 11 & 18)—pg. 20
· Improving Photo Quality (May 21 & 22)—pg. 20

Japanese Tea Gatherings

· First Voice of Spring Tea (Feb. 18)—pg. 21
· Dolls Festival Tea (March 5)—pg. 21
· Cherry Blossom Festival (April 3)—pg. 21
· Spring Blossoms Tea (April 22)—pg. 21
· Boys’ Day Tea (May 6)—pg. 21
· Mother’s Day / Children’s Day Tea (May 7)—pg. 21

Tours and Field Trips

· Walk on the Wild Side (Blomquist tour; 1st Thursdays, Jan. 6, Feb. 3, March 3, April 7, May 5, June 2)—pg. 17
· UNC Herbarium Tour (Feb. 26)—pg. 13
· Duke Herbarium Tour (March 4)—pg. 13
· Spring Flower Walk in the Arboretum (March 11 or April 8)—pg. 6
· Early Spring Jewels: Field Studies Trip (March 27)—pg. 16
· Herp Hunt: Field Studies Trip (April 2)—pg. 16
· Historic Gardens Color Walk (April 7 or May 12)—pg. 6
· Bird Walks (April 9 or April 30)—pg. 17
· J.C. Raulston Arboretum Tour (April 17)—pg. 8
· Montrose Gardens Tour (May 20)—pg. 9
· Gardens of the Doris Duke Center (May 27 or June 24)—pg. 8

Children and Family Programs

· Nature for Sprouts (Feb. 4, 11, 18, or 25)—pg. 24
· Nature Story Time (March 12)—pg. 24
· Arts in the Garden: Duke’s Hoof ‘n’ Horn troupe (March 26)—pg. 24
· Nature Ranger Cart (free drop-in activities; Friday mornings in April and May)—pg. 26
· Nature for Sprouts (April 8, 15, 22, or 29)—pg. 24
· Nature Story Time (April 9)—pg. 24
· Sunday Science (free drop-in activities; April 17, 24, May 1, 8, May 15 canceled, May 22)—pg. 26
· Nature Story Time (May 14)—pg. 24 - CANCELED.
· Arts in the Garden: Paperhand Puppet Intervention (May 28)—pg. 24
· Spring Family Fun Day (free festival; May 28)—pg. 26. Info here.
· Nature Adventures Camp: Animals in the Garden (for ages 8-11; June 20-24)—pg. 25 ( (June 13-17 is canceled)
· Nature Adventures Camp: Animal Homes (for ages 6 & 7; June 27-July 1)—pg. 25
· Nature Adventures Camp: Drawing on Nature (for ages 12 & 13; July 11-15. Sorry, this session is also canceled, due to low enrollment)—pg. 25