Sarah P. Duke Gardens Hosts Classes

Autumn has taken hold and now is the best time of the year for gardeners. The following classes will give you the information to succeed, register at 919-668-1707. Please join us for:

GARDENING 101

Andy Currin, Horticulturist and Avid Vegetable Gardener, and Jan Little, Director of Education and Public Programs, Sarah P. Duke Gardens

Learn how to open and prepare a bed for planting, basic soil improvement strategies, selecting plants, and planting skills. Class will work in the Discovery Garden to see theory in practice.

2 Saturdays, Oct. 6 & 13, 9 am-noon                      

Location: Doris Duke Center                                                  

Home Horticulture Certificate required course

Participant Limit: 15

Fee: $90; Friends $70

Pre-registration is required. Please call 919-668-1707 or email slsmith@duke.edu to reserve space. (parking pass included)

LANDSCAPE PLANTS FOR NORTH CAROLINA GARDENS

Expand your palette of plants with information from this class. Each season this class covers another group of approximately 75 plants suitable for North Carolina gardens. You will learn identification skills and design use, and understand the culture of each plant. The Fall program focuses on plants that shine in autumn, and late- blooming perennial flowers. Winter introduces plant silhouettes and evergreens. Each student receives a portfolio of photos showing the plants studied in each season.

Pre-registration is required. Please call 919-668-1707 or email slsmith@duke.edu to reserve space. (parking pass included)

Fall: Mary Musson, MLA and Landscape Designer

4 Saturdays, Oct. 13 & 20 -Nov. 10 & 17, 10 am-noon         

Location: Doris Duke Center                                                 

Participation Limit: 15

Fee: $110; Friends $90

FALL: Bobby Mottern, MLA and Director of Horticulture, Sarah P. Duke Gardens

4 Thursdays, Oct. 18-Nov. 8, 1-3 pm                                     

Location: Doris Duke Center                                                  

Participant Limit: 15

Fee: $110; Friends $90

Programs for Families:

Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden:  Family Workshops

What is growing in the Discovery Garden? Plant, harvest, taste, and learn about incredible edibles in these workshops that will engage the whole family.

ALL 5 SENSES: Saturday, Oct. 6, 1-2:30 pm

PLANTS AROUND THE WORLD: Thursday, Oct. 18, 4-5:30 pm

Fee: $10 per parent/child; $3 each additional sibling 

Location: Meet at the Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden

Pre-registration is required. Please call 919-668-1707 or email slsmith@duke.edu to reserve space.  Parking pass will be emailed in advance

Invention Investigation for children ages 5-7; adult chaperone required

Did you know that Velcro was inspired by a plant? Learn about the endless ways that inventors adapt natural items for everyday use. Perhaps you will be inspired to create an invention of your own.

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 3-4:30 pm

Location: Doris Duke Center

Fee: $6; Friends $5                                                  

Pre-registration is required; please call 919-668-1707, or email slsmith@duke.edu to reserve space.  Parking pass will be emailed in advance

For All to Enjoy:

MOVIES AT THE GARDENS: Free, drop-in activities

Join us for an outdoor movie series at the Gardens. Films will be shown at dusk, on the lawn  behind the Doris Duke Center. Bring a picnic and enjoy movies in the Gardens.

Wednesday, Oct. 10: The Blues Brothers (1980)

Wednesday, Oct. 24: Easy Rider (1969)

Time: approximately 8 pm

Parking: free after 5 pm

Food/drink: picnics are welcome; remove and dispose of trash off-site

Restrooms: in the Doris Duke Center

Weather cancellations: Please see our Twitter page for updates if rain is forecast. If rain cancels a film, it will be rescheduled.

General information: 919-684-3698

Pre-registration is required for classes. Please call 919-668-1707 or email slsmith@duke.edu to reserve space.

Duke Professor Research Indicates NCAA Fans Work Less During March Madness

The trees are blooming, layers of outerwear are being shed and Durham's Sarah P. Duke Gardens are teeming with those seeking the rays of a warm sun. These things all point to one obvious and extremely important thing, perhaps the biggest the month of March has to offer each year - Madness.

All these niceties of life take second seat to that which rules this area for a few weeks each spring.  Spring wouldn't be Spring without college basketball.  Brackets are filled out, friendly banter about which team is best occurs at nearly every human interaction, and the games are viewed almost to the exclusion of all other things.  They even get streamed online while people are at work.

So as the NCAA tournament is about to begin, fans’ attention is on brackets and seedings. By at least one measure, this focus will mean a decrease in academic productivity, says Duke University professor Charles Clotfelter Z. Smith Reynolds Professor of Public Policy at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy

“The week after selection Sunday, the amount of work goes down. But, in addition to that, the amount of work goes down if your team wins a big game,” Clotfelter said.  In this area, that must mean a big hit to productivity since two (three counting the much improved former powerhouse NC State) college hoops cathedrals are within a few short miles of one another and are embroiled in what some consider the greatest rivalry in all sports.  For the uninitiated, that's Duke and UNC Chapel Hill - the Tobacco Road rivalry.

In his 2011 book "Big-Time Sports in American Universities," Clotfelter analyzed the number of articles viewed during February, March and April at 78 research libraries in three different years. Using the retrieval of articles as a measure of work, he found declines corresponding to the tournament. The study explained in the video linked above.

The #2 ranked Duke Blue Devils Men's Basketball Team plays its first game of the tournament on Friday the 16th at 7:15 PM against #15 ranked Lehigh Mountain Hawks.

See Also:

A more in-depth video interview with Clotfelter

Bracket - everyone needs a bracket

Duke Performances Announces Schedule for 2011 Music in the Gardens Series

With its Music in the Gardens Series, Duke Performances showcases the richness of the area's musical resources and Durham's burgeoning local music scene. In the past year, Durham's music culture has seen some extraordinary achievements.  Grammy wins for both the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Merge Records, plus the addition of Motorco Music Hall and the Casbah to the set of Durham music venues which have given independent musicians more opportunities than ever to perform.

The 2011 season of Music in the Gardens features a mix of styles from regionally-based up and coming acts and locals making their name nationally. Concerts begin on Wednesday, June 2 and are staged on the grounds of the 55-acre Sarah P. Duke Gardens - lawn chairs, picnics and blankets are encouraged.

Performers include: two-time Grammy-nominated Steve Riley and the Mamou Players, Shirlette and the Dynamite Brothers featuring Justin Robinson of Carolina Chocolate Drops, and neoclassical folk act Lost in the Trees. For a full schedule look here, for tickets here.

Set in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, among the most celebrated gardens in the US, Music in the Garden is yet another great reason to visit Durham and delve into what is sure to be a celebrated music scene.

Ticket Sales Brisk, Annual Tribute Luncheon Coming April 27

The Annual Tribute Luncheon is coming up on April 27th at American Tobacco's Bay 7.  The event is a celebration of Durham's unique sense of place that is produced by the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau. 

This year's theme of Great Rhythm Great Blues is a canvass upon which a rather lively event will be painted.  The honorees are the African American Dance Ensemble, the American Dance Festival and the Bull Durham Blues Festival.  The public is welcomed to attend the event with tickets.

"These organizations are creative and and they work they produce is exciting and lively!" said E'Vonne Coleman-Cook, DCVB's Chief Operating Officer.  "I can't imagine that the event will be anything less than uplifting and invigorating."
The event receives significant local support from sponsors.  ABC-11, American Airlines, BCBS, Greenfire Development, Hilton Garden Inn Durham/Southpoint, Merck, The Freelon Group, The Sarah P. Duke Gardens, and U.S. Foodservice.

Coleman-Cook went on to say, "This event is about Durham as a community, and to see we have so many partners in doing that is really heartening.  Times are tough and still we have the support of our fellow stakeholders in the place where great things happen."

The event has been produced for nearly 20 years by DCVB and has celebrated chefs, authors, musicians and architects, among other things.  It is widely considered to be one of Durham's signature "see and be seen" events and sells out every year. 

"At Bay 7, we have a capacity of about 375," Coleman-Cook said.  "Attendance of the event is always strong, and this year we have only about 80 seats left to sell," she said. "That's pretty awesome given the event is still about two months away."

Feeling Like Spring?

It's always refreshing when the grip of winter loosens its hold on the place where great things happen, and it seemed that the grip was a little tighter than usual this year. There were no record snowfalls, but there were many of them. While that's enough to dampen the spirits of the average Southerner, folks in Durham are hardly average...Durham is the Bull City for more than tobacco - folks are pretty hearty. Nonetheless, spring brings all sorts of great opportunities to get out in the world and enjoy some fresh air.



This image of the Sarah P. Duke Gardens
can be downloaded at
http://www.durhamncphotos.com/.

Here are some of the ways to get out as the weather permits (like this weekend!):

• The Sarah P. Duke Gardens - these are free, open to the public and are going to be bursting to life shortly.
• Outdoor dining - many restaurants are opening their patios on these warmer days, so be on the look out for dining al fresco options soon.
• The NC Museum of Life and Science - the outdoor spaces are a great way to get the kids all tuckered out, especially if they've felt cooped up in the colder weather. 
• West Point on the Eno - a walk through the woods beside a river can be just what the doctor ordered to shake off some of those cold weather cob webs.
• Go to the Durham Farmers' Market on Saturday morning - the offerings are mighty tasty.
• Take in some of the action at the Durham Skate Park - it's a great way to burn off some calories and watch some great developing talent in a state of the art facility.

At 299-square-miles, Durham is the 17th smallest county in the state, but it sure is packed with things to do.   The forecast is calling for a high of 60 on Sunday, and all of these ideas are better than any sort of project at home.