Sarah P. Duke Gardens undergoes a yearlong, major transformation with its Garden Gateway project
Visitors to Sarah P. Duke Gardens can expect to see significant growth of the 85-year-old public gardens over the coming year. Shovels went in the ground Feb. 3, 2025, kick-starting the $30 million Garden Gateway project, a privately funded endeavor meant to grow and enhance guests’ experience while maintaining the character and charm of the 85-year-old, 55-acre public gardens, one of the Triangle’s most beloved locales. This includes renovations of the Doris Duke Center, as well as the creation of a new welcome center with a café, gallery space and outdoor meeting areas; improved learning and event facilities, as well as additional space for classes, community programs, Duke University events and weddings; a safer and more accessible entrance to the gardens; and expanded green spaces designed for events and enjoyment.
“When I arrived at Duke Gardens 17 years ago, it didn’t take long to realize that we were soon going to need to expand our capacity to deal with the growing number of people who want to come enjoy the beauty and wonder of the gardens,” says Sarah P. Duke Gardens executive director Bill LeFevre. “We had 300,000 people a year visiting us back then, and now it’s more than doubled.” Indeed, the gardens welcomed more than 600,000 visitors in 2023, a 20% increase from a year earlier.
“People love Duke Gardens, and the facilities have been showing signs of strain,” Bill says. “We have listened to students, faculty, alumni and the community to envision how the gardens can evolve to better meet their needs and retain the qualities that make it a special place. The Garden Gateway project is a forward-looking solution that reaffirms Duke Gardens as a beautiful world-class destination that inspires transformative learning, promotes wellness and builds community.”
“The great news is that the gardens will remain open throughout the entire construction period,” says Communications Director Lauren Smith Hong. “That’s really important to us to continue to be a resource for the community.
“Our location here in the heart of a growing city and a bustling campus means that we’re a very special place for people to come and connect with nature. But it also means that in order to make all of these amazing changes and create these experiences, we do need to temporarily limit access to our main entrance.”
The aforementioned main entrance at 420 Anderson St., the gardens’ parking lots and the Doris Duke Center are all now closed for construction. Public parking will be available on weekends only in the nearby Duke University H Lot, located on Anderson Street and Yearby Avenue. Visitors may enter Duke Gardens on foot through the temporary pedestrian entrance at 2000 Lewis St. and through the garden gates leading to West Campus along Flowers Drive. Guests are strongly encouraged to visit Duke Gardens on weekends when public parking is available or use alternative means of transportation – including the GoDurham Route 6 bus, Duke campus bus, bicycle or ride-hailing service – Monday through Friday (and on the weekends, if possible!). School programs and public tours will also pause during the renovations, but select events will continue, like Walk on the Wild Side, a guided trek through the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants that educates visitors on the ecological importance and natural beauty of native plant species.
Duke Gardens boasts a diverse collection of exotic and non-native plants, but its Blomquist Garden celebrates the beauty of North Carolina’s own flora, serving as a shining example to encourage guests to incorporate native plants into their own gardens. The Walk on the Wild Side program has been a cornerstone of this endeavor for nearly two decades. “My approach to this garden is to encourage the public to really think about the environment, nature and wildlife, and to encourage them to grow plants in their own backyards, in urban spaces and on their farms that are native and that support wildlife habitats,” says Annabel Renwick, curator at the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants.
Annabel’s journey with Duke Gardens began as a volunteer from 2009 to 2011. She later came on board as the horticulturist at Blomquist a couple years later before taking on the role of curator in 2018. Her work extends beyond overseeing a stunning landscape – it’s about forging connections between people and nature, showing how even small changes in planting choices can have a big ecological impact.
Education and sustainability are core values at Duke Gardens, and Walk on the Wild Side is a perfect example of those principles in action. The longest-running program at Duke Gardens, it helps to “celebrate biocultural diversity and build community by developing a shared understanding of the way humans are in relationship with an expansive community of life,” says Kavanah Anderson, director of learning and community engagement at Duke Gardens, who plays a key role in shaping the Gardens’ educational initiatives. “The Gardens as a classroom provide many ways to learn, through formal programs and informal self-guided visits that are multisensory, intergenerational and memorable. Learning is done in community – where the garden, the instructor and the participants all learn from [one another]. … Duke Gardens’ programs connect with Duke’s climate commitment by linking gardening practices and observations of biodiverse garden ecosystems to the context, causes and consequences of climate change, as well as recognizing the importance of community building and advocacy as catalysts for positive change.”
Indeed, the Garden Gateway project itself incorporates sustainable design principles to ensure long-term environmental responsibility, aligning with Duke University’s High Performance Building Framework. “The Garden Gateway project will transform the visitor experience,” Kavanah says. “… The incredibly talented horticulture staff operationalize sustainability and climate resilience in garden design, and this will be evident on arrival. Before reaching the new, sustainably built welcome center, visitors will be greeted with expanded green spaces that showcase this sustainable horticultural artistry, as well as along accessible paths that lead into [Duke] Gardens. An expanded event lawn will create space for enjoying events, performances and picnics. By increasing the plants in these expanded areas, we are creating additional habitat for the rich biodiversity of species that live in Duke Gardens.”
Both Annabel and Kavanah are optimistic about the changes ahead, seeing them as a way to make the gardens even more engaging and welcoming.“We love hearing what you experience at Duke Gardens,” Kavanah says, noting that the Duke Gardens staff is always open to feedback. “Duke Gardens is for you. There are many ways to be involved – as a visitor, a member, a program participant or a volunteer. It is a place to feel connected to community, which includes plants. It’s a place to wander, to be still, to share your attention and to notice the interconnections and interdependence among many scales of life.”
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