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Red Dirt Ramblings®

Firmly rooted in the Oklahoma soil

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Garden Coaching
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  • My Gardens
    • The Back Garden
    • The Potager

Duke University Gardens Full of Fall Splendor

24 September, 2009 By Dee Nash

by Dee Nash
24 September, 200920 August, 2015Filed under:
  • Perennials
  • Photography
  • Road Trip

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

  1. Susan_Tomlinson says

    26 September, 2009 at 7:39 pm

    I have a fake strand of pearls lying around and more hats than you can shake a stick at–let's go!

  2. Ramble on Rose says

    26 September, 2009 at 1:04 am

    It looks like a wonderful place! Thanks for sharing pictures for all of us who couldn't be there 🙁

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 6:30 pm

      Thanks Rose. I'm sorry you couldn't come this year. Next year is Dallas which should also be splendid.~~Dee

  3. Susan_Tomlinson says

    25 September, 2009 at 11:49 pm

    Would it be grand if we all worked in our gardens in hats and pearls? I can just see that…

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 12:19 am

      Susan, I think we could at least stroll through them arm in arm in pearls and large garden hats. I will if you will.~~Dee

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 6:30 pm

      Me too, Susan. I think we could at least stroll together that way. I have pearls. Do you?~~Dee

  4. Les says

    25 September, 2009 at 9:20 pm

    I have visions of genteel southern women with pearls around their necks and dirt under their fingernails.

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 12:20 am

      Ooh, Les, I love that!~~Dee

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 6:31 pm

      Oh, Les, I love your visions. That's splendid.~~dee

  5. Mary Delle says

    25 September, 2009 at 8:36 pm

    Thanks for the garden tour. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Each photo took me a step closer to walking with you.

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 12:20 am

      Mary, I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I'll try to write more.~~Dee

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 6:31 pm

      You so welcome, Mary, and thank you.~~dee

  6. Eliz says

    25 September, 2009 at 1:54 pm

    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!

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 12:21 am

      Eliz, I asked a native (gardener that is), and she knew. I loved it all.~~Dee

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 6:32 pm

      You're welcome, Eliz. I asked Anna of Flower Garden Girl. She's a native too. 🙂 I love it all.~~Dee

  7. MMD says

    25 September, 2009 at 5:03 pm

    That's noblesse oblige at its best, creating a beautiful space for everyone to enjoy.

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 12:22 am

      MMD, I couldn't have said it better.~~Dee

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 6:33 pm

      MMD, I couldn't say it better.~~Dee

  8. Lorene Edwards Forkner says

    25 September, 2009 at 5:02 pm

    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

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 12:23 am

      Hi Lorene, I wish you were here too. Several regulars are missing this year, and we miss you. Yes, even for those of us who see them each summer, fireflies are pure magic.~~Dee

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 6:34 pm

      Hi Lorene, I wish you were here too. I hope to see you in Dallas next year. Fireflies are magical for us too. We remember them from when we were children.~~Dee

  9. joey says

    25 September, 2009 at 3:20 pm

    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)!

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 12:24 am

      Hi Joey, thanks so much for your comment and your kinds words. I'm thrilled to be nominated on Blotanical for Best Oklahoma blog.~~Dee

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 6:35 pm

      Thank you Joey. I'm thrilled to be nominated as Best Oklahoma blog. Hope everyone goes and votes at Blotanical.com.~~Dee

  10. Annie in Austin says

    25 September, 2009 at 3:14 pm

    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

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 12:24 am

      Thanks, Annie. I think writing soothes me. Gives me some alone time.~~Dee

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 6:47 pm

      Frankly, Annie, I'm somewhat surprised I did it too. 🙂 Thanks for all the deep and sweet thoughts.~~Dee

  11. Lisa at Greenbow says

    25 September, 2009 at 10:23 am

    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.

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 12:25 am

      It was very pretty Lisa. We loved it. It's one I don't have.~~Dee

  12. Daffodil Planter says

    25 September, 2009 at 4:17 am

    That stream in the native garden is an amazing shot. If I lived in North Carolina I'd be a "native plants only" gardener in a skinny minute!

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 12:25 am

      Thanks so much DP. I don't know. I love all the plants. I'm a plant nut though.~~Dee

  13. Debra Lee Baldwin says

    25 September, 2009 at 3:00 am

    Dee, you are indeed amazing. Great photos, wonderful writing, and I'll bet you still made it to bed by midnight.

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 12:26 am

      Thanks Debra. I was between the sheets by 11:30 p.m. Had to get up @ 5:45 to get ready for the bus.~~Dee

  14. Carol says

    25 September, 2009 at 2:52 am

    What a great post, I wish I had read it before I visited the garden with you. It is a beautiful place, isn't it?

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 12:27 am

      Well, neither one of us had made it there yet, so you couldn't read it my dear. I wish I'd known so much beforehand though.~~Dee

  15. rebecca sweet says

    25 September, 2009 at 2:11 am

    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!

    • reddirtramblin says

      26 September, 2009 at 12:27 am

      Thank you Rebecca. I like writing. It soothes my nerves after a long day.~~Dee

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