Duke Gardens

For those who have never been to Duham, one of the jewels of the city is the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. It sits near Duke's West Campus, and is at once a communal place for undergrads to play soccer or throw a frisbee, a go-between path for medical students trapsing between their dorms and Duke Hospital, and a place for graduate students and other Durham-ites to enjoy a nice afternoon walk. Durham not being a large urban area, Duke Gardens is a place where you will see people from all walks of life enjoying a spring afternoon.

It was nice to visit the Gardens in the spring, when the many tulips, azaleas, and dogwoods are in bloom. North Carolina is a lush and beautiful place at Easter. Our family - my mother, my brother and his wife, and Ryan and I, all enjoyed a stroll through the Gardens on Saturday afternoon (after a nice lunch at Bullock's Barbecue, and an evening Bulls game.)

	From this view, you can see the large Loblolly Pines and Azalea bushes that are common in the southeastern United States.
	Here's nice family photo of all of us.
	Here you can see the rows and rows of tulips and other flowers planted along a slope down to a Koi pond. The blue chairs were set up in preparation for an Easter sunrise service that was going to take place the following day.
	Japanese Cherry Blossoms
	Wisteria blossom
	Duke Gardens has some fantastic, old, climbable Magnolia trees. (Becky and Ryan were caught k-i-s-s-i-n-g in one.)
	One of the most well-known spots in Duke Gardens is the hyacinth-covered gazebo. Many a blushing bride have had their photos taken through the years under this gazebo. The flowers only bloom for a month or so a year, so it's a special treat to be at the Gardens when the gazebo is in bloom.