Rick Fisher
It was master gardener Charlotte Brody’s dream to establish a safe place where children could learn and experience the joys of gardening. Duke Gardens is taking that goal a step further with its new Discovery Garden, a sustainable, organic food garden named after Charlotte.
Charlotte spent the last 40 years of her life educating people in her community about the importance of organic foods and gardening for a healthier lifestyle. The garden, which was built on an unused field between the Page-Rollins White Garden and Lewis Street, continues that mission by acting as a host site for classes and free drop-in programs for adults, children and families.
The Discovery Garden also features vegetable beds, an orchard, fruiting shrubs and vines, a reconstructed tobacco barn, a rain garden, a chicken coop, cold frames for winter planting and two cisterns that can hold more than 7,000 gallons of rainwater. Food grown in the garden is donated to Durham’s Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. Duke Gardens has already donated more than 650 peppers, 120 eggplants, 220 pounds of potatoes and more.
The public is invited to a grand opening weekend festival Sept. 8 and 9, from noon-3pm each day. Visitors can tour the garden, taste samples of garden produce, enjoy live music and a garden story, talk to experts from Bountiful Backyards, Durham County Master Gardeners, DIG youth from SEEDS, This and That Jam, the Durham Beekeepers Association, Carolina Coops, Interfaith Food Shuttle and more. For more information, call 919-684-3698 or click here.
