Blomquist Garden of Native Plants Virtual Tour
Duke Gardens School & Family Programs
Text adapted from original writing by Jane Hewitt.
Welcome! In this tour, we will explore one of the areas at Duke Gardens — the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants — and learn about some of the plants and animals that live there. We love to share ways to learn through observation, and even though we are not in the garden together right now, you will be able to make many observations from the images we share and we hope that at times you feel as if you are transported into the garden.
Before we get going, I’m wondering if you have been to Duke Gardens before. If so, have you visited the Blomquist garden of native plants?
map of Duke Gardens
Let’s take a look at this map of the whole garden, which is 55 acres! The Blomquist garden is the gray area and it is 7 acres. We will follow a path into the garden and stop to observe things along the way, so if you have visited this area before, some things may look familiar. And if you have never been to the garden, you could take this same path on a future visit. We hope to see you all in the garden one day!
Alright, let's head into the garden.
We’ve rambled in the Blomquist. Maybe at first it seemed like just woods full of green leaves. Now you know more about some of the plants in this garden area and the way plants are part of the habitat of many other living things.
Find a place where you can observe some plants near you. Look for different shades of green and different leaf shapes.
Look for some trees. What is similar and different about the trees around you? What does the texture of the bark feel like?
Do you see or hear birds, insects or other animals?
What else do you observe that is interesting to you? Record some of your observations on paper, with words or pictures, and tell someone else about the things you observe.
Keep on observing and enjoying time outside, and we hope to see you at Duke Gardens one day!
