Red Dirt Ramblings®

Firmly rooted in the Oklahoma soil

Bubbling brook in the native garden at Duke University Gardens.

Duke University Gardens Full of Fall Splendor

On our first full day of Garden Writers Association goodness, we had talks on the greening of the planet and working on the web, designer veggie gardens and editor panels. Then we were off to have lunch while perusing the garden products exhibition. I like to call it the “trade show,” but I think, perhaps, I’m the only one who describes it as such. Lots of new plants to think about for next year, and I’m mailing myself a sample or two (or ten). Proven Winners, Dramm Tools Timberpress Books and so many others were there to tell us about the latest and greatest in garden products and plants. It’s always fun, but a bit overwhelming too.

Back at the room, it was time to rest a bit before heading out to stroll the fifty-five acre Sarah P. Duke Gardens on the university grounds. The center of the garden was a circle surrounded by roses. Elizabeth Licata and I agreed that the best rose by far was ‘Strike it Rich’, a fabulous golden yellow. I don’t know if they spray, but it had very little blackspot in an extremely humid climate (at least for today).

Rosa 'Strike It Rich'
Rosa ‘Strike It Rich’

The Duke Gardens are nationally renowned and contain many subgardens within their whole, including the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants. I was especially interested in it because of the prairie plants which grow so well in my native state.

Goldenrod and Ironweed provide great food for pollinators. These were covered with bumblebees.
Goldenrod and Ironweed provide great food for pollinators. These were covered with bumblebees.

It contains a large variety of plants native to the southeastern U.S., some of which are growing beneath loblolly pines that are at least thirty feet tall.

Loblolly pines standing tall against the sky
Loblolly pines standing tall against the sky

As I wandered through terraced gardens filled to overflowing with blooming perennials and annuals, I began to wonder about Sarah P. Duke.  Who was she, and how did she and her family turn a “debris filled ravine” into a showplace? According to the brochure, in 1934, Mrs. Duke, the widow of Benjamin N. Duke, was persuaded to give $20,000 toward turning the area into a park. The original plants were washed away in heavy rains. After Mrs. Duke died, a faculty member and avid gardener, Dr. Frederic M. Hanes, convinced her daughter, Mary Duke Biddle, to fund a more formal garden in her mother’s memory.

Interestingly, the heavily planted terrace gardens were designed by a woman landscape architect, Ellen Shipman. The original gardens opened in 1939.

An especially pleasing black plant combination in the terrace gardens. I love black plants.
An especially pleasing black plant combination in the terrace gardens. I love black plants, and that elephant ear is exceptional.

The portraits of Mrs. Duke, her daughter and her granddaughter hang in the reception center. In their hats and pearls, they gazed down upon us with proud yet benevolent smiles. I like to think that their contented faces weren’t due to how much money they had, but instead, the pleasure known from growing things and creating beauty on a grand scale.

More of the formally planted terrace garden which is often used for wedding photos.
More of the formally planted terrace garden which is often used for wedding photos.

They left quite a legacy for us to enjoy.

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Comments

  6. Eliz

    Thanks for the pine ID; I did not know it. I liked looking at the native plants but I think I really loved the terraced garden and that fabulous pond. Hot humid day but so worth it!

  8. Lorene Edwards Forkner

    Hi Dee, Thank you for sharing. I wish I was with you at GWA – so much to learn, so much to catch up on. I love the Duke Gardens…years ago I saw my first firefly there. Remember, I'm a left coast gal – it was pure magic!!!
    Lorene

  9. joey

    It's been many years since I visited (about this time of year also) so thoroughly enjoyed my tour beside you, Dee. Thanks for sharing your lovely photos and info on Sarah (kudos on your nomination)!

  10. Annie in Austin

    Your post was fun, Dee! Like Rebecca, I'm also impressed you could write it at the GWA! It was also fun to start down the google trail and read more about Mary Duke Biddle and her likewise horticulturally benevolent socialite-philanthropist first cousin Doris Duke. Looks like some interesting things came out of all that tobacco money!

    Know you miss your family – but what good stories you'll have to share when you get back.

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

  11. Lisa at Greenbow

    I think you were right. That golden rose is the best. It sounds like you had a good time and were quite busy. You can chew on all that info for some time. Cheers.

  15. rebecca sweet

    I'm amazed that you can write such a beautiful post after such a long day! Thanks for sharing this – especially to us GWA 'orphans' who couldn't go this year. I feel like I toured the gardens with you, thanks to your lovely photos!