Issue #15 

Spring 2007

 

The Basin Bulletin

 

Newsletter for Stakeholders of the Raritan River Basin

Prepared on behalf of the Raritan Basin Watershed Alliance

Duke at Dusk
Twilight Tours are the Perfect Time to Bask in the Natural Beauty of Duke Farms

(Copyright: Courier News Online April 12, 2007)

By CHERYL FENSKE
Correspondent

Duke Farms is celebrating spring with Twilight Tours that enable guests to enjoy a special evening combining the beauty and variety of its Indoor Display Garden with a "Picnic on the Green."  The new Twilight Tours begin this week and will be conducted 4:30-6:30 p.m. each Friday and Saturday through May 26 at the grounds on the Duke Estate in Hillsborough. Guests are invited to picnic on the green in front of the building before or after the tour; guests may may order a box lunch in advance or bring their own picnics.  "This is a great opportunity to bring the family to tour the garden and enjoy the outdoors," said Timothy M. Taylor, executive director of Duke Farms.  The one-acre Indoor Display Garden is actually 11 different gardens under one roof. During the one-hour guided tours, guests experience the diverse cultures and regions of the world through the gardens.  As guests walk from one garden to the other, they discover a rainbow of colors, a variety of scents and myriad sights, since it is "dramatically different from garden to garden," said Julia Zauner, team leader, marketing-communications for Duke Farms.

Among the displays are the following:

 

Italian Garden, with its vast display of different colored orchids, many of which are not usually found outside their indigenous environments;

 

French Display Garden, with its seasonal display that features a bouquet of scents and colors, including lilies, freesia and petunias;

 

English Garden, featuring a finely manicured topiary display that includes a dinosaur, complete with spiked back;

 

Cactus Garden, where the temperature rises to accommodate the many variety of cacti, including giant Century Plants, spreading rosettes whose leaves can reach as much as six feet in length and, according to lore, only bloom once every 100 years;

 

Chinese Garden, where colorful fish meander through a stream in the midst of lush flowers and greenery -- be sure to check out the "endless garden" illusion.

There is also a Rose Garden, Japanese Garden and Indo-Persian Garden, all inside turn-of-the-century greenhouses that allow guests to enjoy the late-day glow.  In addition to pointing out the various types of plants, knowledgeable guides share little-known fun facts of interest to all ages. The pathway in the Chinese Garden, for example, is crooked to keep guests safe from evil, and the five-pronged inlaid stones are a symbol of good luck, while those with a sixth stone reminds us "we are not always perfect," Zauner said. And be sure to keep an eye out for rabbits -- the topiary kind, of course.  The grounds will be open for picnicking from 4:30 to 8 p.m. The Indoor Display Garden tours also are offered during the day on Wednesdays through Sundays until May 31, when the gardens close for the summer. Duke Farms also offers a variety of horticulture classes, nature programs and tours. For more information, visit www.dukefarms.org

If you want to go:

The cost of the Twilight Garden Tour is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (ages 62 and older) and youth (ages 13-17), and $6 for children ages 6-12. Children under age 6 are free. Advance reservations are required and can be made at www.dukefarms.org or by calling 908-722-3700 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Sunday.

Picnic on the Green box dinners can be pre-ordered at www.dukefarms.org. The box dinners are prepared by Simply Incredible Deli & Catering in Somerville and cost $9.95 per adult (plus tax) and $6.95 per child (plus tax).

 

 
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