Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Durham, NC

The Sarah P. Duke Gardens is a 55 acre garden located in Durham, NC. It has 55 acres of specialized gardens located on the Duke University campus. The garden is divided into different areas: the native plant garden, Asiatic gardens, historic gardens, and the Doris Duke gardens.

My favorite area is the Discovery Garden which is a mini-homestead garden. They’ve done a great job turning this edible garden into a creative space that would be really fun to garden in. It’s definitely a learning garden for kids and adults about raising your own food. They even have a small chicken coop with a few chickens of various breeds.

There are a lot of tall trees throughout the gardens which gives a great sense of enclosure and hides the fact you’re in the middle of an urban area. I spoke with one of the employees at the garden, and he said land in North Carolina used to be mostly hardwood trees. Once settlers came and harvested those hardwood trees, the pines that had laid seeds in the ground for hundreds of years, began to sprout. This is why there are so many pines and much less hardwood species now.

By visiting in mid-April, there were many native species in flower including wood poppy, foam flower, Virginia bluebells, phacelia, amsonia, and other spring flowers. This is a great time to also see azaleas, dogwoods, and tulips.

This is one of the best gardens I’ve visited. One could easily spend half a day here walking through the garden, stopping for photos, and taking in the scenery.

Duke Gardens is open 365 days a year from 8am to dusk and the admission is free. Stop into the visitor’s center first to find a map of the garden. There is a parking lot by the garden with a small parking fee you pay for through an online website. Just note that the parking lot can fill quickly and since it’s on a campus, finding other parking nearby can be difficult.