Duke Gardens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality.
Discussion of this nomination can be found on the talk page. (June 2008)

For the gardens at Duke University, see Sarah P. Duke Gardens.

Approach to Duke Gardens, showing Trumbauer conservatory housing Semi-tropical, Italian, and Colonial Gardens

Duke Gardens are Display Gardens in a set of linked greenhouses of varying ages, and are part of the 2,700-acre (11 km²) Duke Farms estate built by James Buchanan Duke, founder of the American Tobacco Company. Duke Farms is located on U.S. Route 206, 1.75 miles south of the Somerville Circle, in Hillsborough in Somerset County, New Jersey.^[1] Designed and installed by Doris Duke herself, therefore several alternative names are used: The Doris Duke Indoor Display Gardens at Duke Farms, Duke Farms Indoor Display Gardens, The Doris Duke International Display Gardens, The Duke Gardens Foundation. Officially, the Gardens were The Duke Gardens Foundation, Inc, a 501(c)(3) Private Operating Foundation established 1960^[2].

May 25th 2008 ^[3], was the last day that the internationally-themed Indoor Display Gardens at Duke Farms were open the public. They are now closed and all plants, trees and shrubs will be removed^[4], commencing mid June^[5]. No public statement has been made regarding the landscaping within the conservatories (fountains, reflecting pool, Japanese tea garden, ponds etc). The website www.SaveDukeGardens.org [1]has started a campaign asking New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine to intervene with the eleven Trustees [2] behind the decision to terminate Duke Gardens: Joan E. Spero, (President), Nannerl O. Keohane (Chair), John J. Mack (Vice Chair), Harry Demopoulos, Anthony Fauci, James F. Gill, Anne Hawley, Peter A. Nadosy, William H. Schlesinger, John H.T. Wilson and John E. Zuccotti.

Miss Duke developed these exotic display gardens in honor of her beloved father James Buchanan Duke^[6], who similarly endowed Duke University in honor of his father ^[7]. Inspired by DuPont's Longwood Gardens, each of the eleven Duke Display Gardens is a full-scale re-creation of a garden theme, country or period. Display construction began in 1958. Miss Duke both designed the displays and labored on their installation, sometimes working 16 hour days^[8]. In 1960 she donated eleven acres of her estate, including the greenhouses, to the Duke Gardens Foundation, Inc [3]. Doris Duke's Indoor Display Gardens were opened to the public in 1964, and were closed by order of the Trustees of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation [4] on May 25th, 2008.

A rediscovered image of Doris Duke's stunning nightlighting of the French Gardens [5] was used as the centerpiece of social protest against the closure.

The Display Gardens form four sides of a quadrangle. One side is formed by a Conservatory designed by Horace Trumbauer and constructed 1909-17^[9]. The other three sides are formed by greenhouses in styles that are still manufactured. The greenhouse currently over the English Garden was installed in the 1990s.

The Display Gardens are visited in the following sequence:

Italian courtyard - statues amid lush plantings in the Romantic style, including a replica of Antonio Canova's sculpture The Three Graces.
Colonial Garden - representing gardens of the South Atlantic United States, with camellias, azaleas, magnolia, and crepe myrtle.
Georgian Garden (Fern and Orchid House) - ferns and orchids
French Parterre - flowers planted in a geometric parterre [6].
English Gardens - five miniature gardens, including a topiary; a rock garden and herbaceous borders; an Elizabethan knot garden of the 16th and 17th centuries; and an 18th century succulent garden.
American Desert - cacti and succulents, including barrel cactus, giant aloe, and crown of thorns, with desert apple, aloe vera, mother-in-law's tongue, etc.
Chinese Garden - koi stream and rock formations, with bamboo, camphor trees, bleeding heart, hybrid tulips, and jasmine.
Japanese Garden - tea house with bonsai trees, red maples, etc.
Indo-Persian Garden - water course, fountains, and carved marble screens, with orange trees, Mediterranean cyprus, and a Persian rose garden.
Tropical Garden - tropical trees and vines.
Semi-Tropical Garden - papyrus, fiddlehead ferns, Bird of Paradise, etc.

1 Closure and removal of Doris Duke's International Display Gardens
2 See also
3 External links
4 References

[edit] Closure and removal of Doris Duke's International Display Gardens

In March 2008 Duke Farms announced ^[10] "an expansive and bold new vision for the 2,740-acre (11.1 km²) property, in which it will refocus its programs and operations to become an environmental showcase and learning center. The first major change will be the conclusion in May 2008 of tours of the 11 indoor display gardens" that Ms. Duke created at her home and held open to the public from 1964 until her death in 1993.

Although the Duke Farms website states that "The Indoor Display Gardens reveal the interests and philanthropic aspirations of Doris Duke, as well as an appreciation for other cultures and a yearning for global understanding"^[11], representatives of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) more recently stated that the Gardens are "perpetuating the Duke family history of personal passions and conspicuous consumption."^[12] "The jewel-like gardens will remain open until May 25, after which they will be dismantled. According to DDCF sources, the day of the display gardens is past. They consume an inordinate share of financial and staff resources, they would require a very expensive modernization, and they no longer reflect the vision of Duke Farm’s future. A video record has been made for archival purposes." ^[13]

The current garden tours are closing partly to use the building as a staging area for plants, while the other conservatory building is emptied and renovated, officials said ^[14]. As for the plants there, [Executive Director Tim] Taylor said some may be used in the new gardens, though the concept will be different. "It will not be replicated in terms of the gardens of the nations. We'll put a different spin on them, and come up with a logical connecting story of native horticulture to exotic horticulture," he said. Leftover plants will be donated to other botanical and display gardens, Taylor said. "We're not destroying anything."

In April 2008, opposition to the closure and dismantling of the Display Gardens started to emerge. Open letters appeared in the local press ^[15]. A website, www.SaveDukeGardens.org [7] was established, allowing protest emails to the Trustees. A usergroup to display images of the Gardens, "Save Duke Gardens" was formed on the photography web service flickr.com [8]. The ongoing web campaign has received local ^[16] and metropolitan ^[17] coverage, and resulted in hundreds of letters^[18] to the eleven DDCF Trustees [9] behind the decision: Joan E. Spero, (President), Nannerl O. Keohane (Chair), John J. Mack (Vice Chair), Harry Demopoulos, Anthony Fauci, James F. Gill, Anne Hawley, Peter A. Nadosy, William H. Schlesinger, John H.T. Wilson and John E. Zuccotti.

A rediscovered image of Doris Duke's stunning nightlighting of the French Gardens [10] was used as the centerpiece of social protest against the closure.