Sarah P. Duke Gardens

Duke Gardens is one of the finest examples in the Southeast of garden as an art form. Developed in the 1930s to memorialize the wife of Benjamin N. Duke, the 55 acres of landscaped and woodland gardens features more than 2,000 kinds of plants, five miles of alleys, walks, and pathways with woodlands, bridges, grottos, courts, lawns, bowls, waterfalls, ponds and pavilions.

The terraces are the Garden's historical core with an entrance at the summit through a famous wisteria-covered Pergola with the Gardens' grandest vista. Dramatic plantings in this area change three times a year...Tulips in the spring, annuals in the summer and Chrysanthemums in the fall. At the base of the Terraces is a Fishpond and Rock Garden.

The Blomquist Garden of Native Plants is one of the finest of all collections of southeastern wildflowers, displayed in a dramatic woodland setting with 850 species and varieties. A 20-acre Asiatic Arboretum is under development with 300 eastern US-related species and cultivars, also serving as a flood-water basin.

Directions:

map
  • I-85 North (arriving from Atlanta, Charlotte, Greensboro, etc.):
    • Take exit #172 Durham Freeway, follow for approximately 2 miles.
    • Take exit #16-B (Hwy. 15-501 Bypass SOUTH).
    • Follow for approximately 1 mile, take exit #107 (Duke West Campus).
    • At end of exit ramp turn left onto Cameron Blvd.
    • Follow for approximately 1 mile to 4th traffic light.
    • Turn left onto Duke University Rd., follow for approximately 1 mile.
    • Turn left onto Anderson St.
    • Sarah P. Duke Gardens is 2 blocks ahead on the left
  • I-85 South (arriving from NY, DC, VA, etc.):
    • Take exit #174-B (Hwy. 15-501 Bypass South, Duke University) .
    • Follow Hwy. 15-501 for approximately 1-2 miles.
    • Take exit #107 (Duke West Campus).
    • At end of exit ramp turn left onto Cameron Blvd.
    • Follow for approximately 1 miles to 4th traffic light.
    • Turn left onto Duke University Rd., follow for approximately 1 mile.
    • Turn left onto Anderson St.
    • Sarah P. Duke Gardens is 2 blocks ahead on the left
  • I-40 East (arriving from Memphis, Asheville, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, etc):
    • I-40 East and I-85 North merge in Greensboro, NC.
    • When highways divide near Hillsborough, NC, take I-85 North.
    • Follow directions for I-85 North as listed above.
  • I-40 West (arriving from Wilmington, Fayetteville, Raleigh, etc.):
    • Take exit #279-B, the Durham Fwy. (Hwy. 147 North).
    • Follow Durham Fwy. approximately 8 miles to Hwy. 15-501 Bypass South.
    • Take exit #16-B (Hwy. 15-501 Bypass SOUTH).
    • Follow for approximately 1 mile, take exit #107 (Duke West Campus).
    • At end of exit ramp turn left onto Cameron Blvd.
    • Follow for approximately 1 miles to 4th traffic light.
    • Turn left onto Duke University Rd., follow for approximately 1 mile.
    • Turn left onto Anderson St.
    • Sarah P. Duke Gardens is 2 blocks ahead on the left