Duke Gardens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Duke Gardens (11 greenhouses) are display and botanical gardens located on U.S. Route 206, 1.75 miles south of the Somerville Circle, in Somerville in Somerset County, New Jersey. The gardens are open for guided one-hour tours from October 1 through May 31; a reservation and admission fee is required.

The Duke Farms and Gardens were originally constructed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as part of a 2,700-acre estate built by James Buchanan Duke, founder of the American Tobacco Company. As the estate was landscaped, over two million shrubs and specimen trees were planted.

Currently only the 11 display greenhouses are open to the public. Each is a full-scale re-creation of a garden theme, country or period. Greenhouse restoration began in 1958 under the guidance of Doris Duke, James Duke's only child, inspired by DuPont's Longwood Gardens. In 1960 she donated eleven acres of her estate, including the greenhouses, to the Gardens Foundation. The greenhouses opened to the public in 1964.

The greenhouse gardens currently include:

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.

Colonial Garden - representing gardens of the South Atlantic United States, with camellias, azaleas, magnolia, and crepe myrtle.

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.