Following in Andy Goldsworthy's path

Children in Duke Gardens' Nature Adventure Camp worked on an art installation inspired by artist Andy Goldsworthy. Over four days, they built a bridge, a leaf path and a hut. You can see their process below -- including much creative collaboration and muscle power.

Next week's campers will build a whole new installation. Stay tuned.

Megafaun at Duke Gardens

Here are some photo highlights from last night's Megafaun concert.

Meghan Griffith, who teaches hooping in the Triangle, brought a carload of hoops and let anyone use them -- which proved to be a popular diversion. You can see one toddler hoop-share negotiation below. And interpretive dancer Randy McCutcheon danced by the stage for the whole show.

Read a concert review here. And for the rest of Duke Performances' Music in the Gardens roster, go here.

Duke Gardens award winners

Please join us in congratulating Chuck Hemric for his 2009 Marsha Riddle Lifetime Achievement Award from the N.C. Association of Volunteer Administration (read about it here).


Also, Stefan Bloodworth, curator of the H.L. Blomquist Garden of Native Plants, has won two awards for his work at the Gardens and as an independent landscaper.

The first is The North Carolina Native Plant Society Award for Landscape Design with Native Plant Materials, which recognizes "the exemplary use of native plant material in a public garden in a manner that also promotes such use in home and business landscapes."

The second is the Golden Leaf Award for Community Appearance, for his work at 1106 Anderson St.

"The attractive use of seasonal and location-appropriate plants make a charming statement about how landscape can be attractive and well groomed while conserving water and the environment. The landscaping adds a breath of fresh air to the location's stale past," the award announcement says. "As one judge put it, 'The lovely landscaping is a gift to all who drive down Anderson.' "

Duke Gardens 2010 wall calendars are here

This is the cover photo. You can get one at the Terrace Shop or by supporting Duke Gardens as a Friend (info here).

Duke Gardens Facebook photo contest

Hardly a moment goes by at Sarah P. Duke Gardens in which you don’t see someone training a camera on one of the myriad sights here – be it a breathtaking panorama, the wisteria-covered pergola, a group of ducklings or a dew-misted leaf.

Duke Gardens Facebook fans can now share their favorite Gardens photos in a series of online exhibits and earn votes to win prizes.

To enter, join Facebook (it’s free and easy), then go to the Facebook fan page here, sign up to be a fan and click on “events.” You’ll see six exhibit listings, each in a different category (panoramas, close-ups, etc.). Click RSVP on the exhibit topic you want and then enter the event page. You can post photos (one per member per category) or simply click “like” on others’ photos to vote for them and comment on them. Press the “share” button on the event page to tell all your Facebook friends to join and vote.

The contest ends June 29 at 1 p.m. The top vote-getter in each category will win a 2010 wall calendar. Second prize is a DVD about the Gardens’ history. Third prize is a Duke Gardens plant (for pickup only). Top prize winners may pick a lower prize if they prefer. Winners will be announced and contacted by June 30. Please check back for more contests each month thereafter.

Duke Gardens Fairy House Village

Sarah and Catherine strategize on their Duke Gardens fairy house.


Update: Here's the fairy house article that appeared in the Herald-Sun June 20.

Sarah Kunz isn’t certain how many fairies live in the woods outside her house. But the Durham 8-year-old is sure there must be some.

So this month, she and her sisters gathered construction materials to build a village for the wood sprites to live in. The building supplies: rocks, sticks, big leaves, pine straw and other items easily scrounged from any yard.

She and her 5-year-old sister Catherine got some practice for the project last month, when they and other children built a fairy village at Sarah P. Duke Gardens.

The popular project was part of the Gardens’ inaugural Family Fun Day, the kickoff for its free Sunday drop-in program. The children – from toddlers on up – built about 25 tiny homes, each distinct from the others.

Sarah’s mother, Diane Kunz, was so enchanted with the village and the ease of construction that she immediately made plans to work on one at home. It isn’t hard, and it costs nothing. Almost anything, from cardboard to gourds, feathers and shells, can make for a suitable shelter for fairies – or for any garden creatures that live nearby

"To me, this was a revelation," says Kunz, who calls her daughters "the fabulous flower fairies." "I know you can buy a fairy village in stores. But it had never occurred to me that you can make one from what you have."

The Kunzes’ Gardens house had an airy, island hut feel to it, with a bamboo frame and a sandy floor.

"My friend Gigi has a porch where they can just sit there and relax and read a magazine or a book and listen to the birds," she said of her architecture plan. "And so I added a porch. I felt like I was creating a new world for the fairies."

She wasn’t sure what her backyard fairy house would entail. But the trial and error of the Duke Gardens project – including a bamboo frame that initially kept falling down – prepared her for roadblocks.

She has some advice for newbie house-builders, especially those with limited materials.

"If you want to make a fairy house and you don’t really have a choice of what to use, you can just let your imagination go and use stuff from nature and make it comfortable as if you wanted to live in it. So you can be happy for those fairies and they can be happy for you."

Her biggest tip: be flexible.

"You need to be very patient and just go with what happens, and if some stuff messes up then you make new stuff with it," she says.

"Like with my sisters, I don’t get angry when they mess up," she says. "I go, like, 'Wow, that's a good idea.' When something messes up, it sometimes creates something new for your house. Sometimes it's hard to be patient and steady, but the longer you try, and if you can just try so hard, the better your house will be and the steadier it will be."

For fairy house instruction and inspiration, go to fairyhouses.com. If you've made your own fairy house, we'd love to see it. You can post photos at our Facebook fan page here.

Original post:

Here are some photos of the Fairy House Village that children built on Family Fun Day. Some of them were shot a day later, after the night breezes tested their structural integrity. So they aren't as pristine as they originally were. But as you'll see from the variety of styles, these youngsters had plenty of imagination. And many of them talked about going home to build more.

Please join us next year to make another village for fairies and garden creatures. And until then, consider making one in your own neighborhood.

Japanese Tea Gathering at Duke Gardens

By Nancy Hamilton

We recently enjoyed our first traditional Japanese tea gathering with school children at Duke Gardens!

Seventeen kindergarteners from E.K. Powe journeyed to Duke Gardens (on foot!) and joined us in the teahouse in the Culberson Asiatic Arboretum. The children were fascinated with the entire experience, which started with their entry through the very child-friendly crawl-through door (nijiriguchi). This innovative entryway is a special teahouse feature that encourages the idea of equality in the teahouse, as each guest must lower himself or herself equally to enter. The children embraced this idea wholeheartedly, as they had no problem squeezing through two at a time.







They gathered in anticipation around the tatami, where our host, Kazu Okada, would make tea for them by drawing special items from a tea box prepared especially for the day. After the box was opened, there was a collective wave of surprise as the children took pleasure in each unique item as it was removed from the box: a shiny lacquer tea container; a slender bamboo tea scoop; a teabowl with crackly white glaze; a bamboo whisk; a small, white folded linen.

Ms. Okada placed all these items in their proper places on the teabox lid, which was now functioning as a tray. The children remained entranced as she purified each item with a colorful cloth.



Then the host proceeded to the tea-making by placing powdered green tea in the bowl, adding hot water and whisking it to a bubbly froth.



The children learned proper tea etiquette from our lead guest, Kako Gagnon, who coached them through how to hold and drink tea from a bowl.



The children each received their own small bowl of tea, which they were eager to hold...and some even enjoyed drinking!


The students were quick to notice the flowers in the alcove, including the iris flower displayed in observance of Children’s Day, which the Japanese celebrate on May 5. The leaves of the iris flower are added to Japanese children’s bathwater on this day as a way of honoring their vitality and hoping for continued strength in their growing years.

The children certainly added vitality to our tea gathering with their open curiosity and joy at sharing a new experience.

Duke Gardens also hosts traditional Japanese tea gatherings for adults. The next are scheduled for Oct. 21 and Nov. 11, two per day. Seating is limited. Call 668-1707 for information or to reserve a spot.