Great Blue Heron, Sarah P. Duke Gardens
My husband and I had the good fortune to host a quick visit from Christina and her husband this week and it was such a great experience.
The weather was more than a bit challenging, as we are in the middle of a serious heat wave. Maximum temperature records are flying out the window, including here in the Piedmont area where we live. The average temperature at this time of year is 85°F (29.4°C); however, yesterday was a sunny, hot, humid 100°F (37.7°C) day.
Our guests were real troopers as we tried to catch some of the garden highlights in this area. We started humbly with a look around pbmGarden. The meditation circle, Christina said, is what first drew her to my blog, so it was a treat to see her and her husband navigating the labyrinth.
Meditation Circle
Next up we toured Duke Gardens in Durham and though we did not cover all 55 acres, we managed to see quite a lot of the specialized gardens. Christina’s husband was quite interested in seeing North American birds and were able to spot American robin, red-bellied woodpecker, Eastern bluebird, brown thrasher, crow and blue jay, among others. An Eastern towhee was audible but never stepped out where we could spot it.
While cooling off at water’s edge we encountered a variety of ducks, watched a family of Canada geese and admired a stately Great Blue Heron. All the birds seemed eager to pose.
Great Blue Heron
Muscovy Duck and Canada Geese
Across the water in the distance we could see a focal point of the Asiatic Arboretum, a red Japanese-style arched bridge, which we later crossed.
The Red Bridge, Sarah P. Duke Gardens
The White Garden showcased beautiful hydrangeas.
White Garden, Sarah P. Duke Gardens
As time ran short we had to scrap plans for Niche Gardens, a retail nursery for native and unusual plants. But before it closed for the day we managed a brief stop at nearby North Carolina Botanical Garden, where we saw a sampling of milkweeds, ferns (including southern maidenhair), carnivorous plants and trumpet vines. We admired the enormous leaves of Magnolia macrophylla (Big-leaf Magnolia), a staff member explained to us about vining spinach that grows all summer and Christina was able to get a close-up look at a bee-covered Vitex angus-castus tree. Our bird list for the day grew to include American goldfinch and mourning dove.
There were a thousand more places I wanted to share and a thousand more things to say, but all too soon it was time to say good-bye. Thanks Christina for stopping in.
pbmGarden 
Susie, Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I made many visits to Duke Gardens when we lived in Chapel Hill, and I was a tour guide at NCBG for many years. So glad you had such a nice visit with Christina and her husband.
Glad you enjoyed it John. When I learned Christina might come I envisioned organizing as many local garden bloggers as possible to greet her, but I couldn’t pull it off this time. It was wonderful to meet her.
Next time!
So glad you had a chance to visit! Hope this heat breaks soon.
Me too Marian. It was such a treat to meet Christina. I kept hoping it wouldn’t rain when she came and then I started hoping it would!
A fine post that gave me a Duke Garden fix and another look at your meditation circle, which is a blessing to all. Thanks.
Thanks Stepheny. When it cools down maybe we can meet up and traipse around Duke Gardens ourselves.
Lovely post Susie, meeting other bloggers one exchanges thoughts and feelings with and sharing the trials and tribulations of our gardens is quite personal, that must be like meeting an old friend today. Despite the heat sounds as if you all had a lovely time. Hope it cools down soon.
It was a special time Julie. Christina was one of the early commenters on my nascent blog. I mentioned elsewhere this was like finally meeting that pen pal from early grade school.
That looks like a brilliant day. Christina is more used to the heat than I would be!
I enjoyed it immensely Jessica. It would be hard to get used to this heat and the humidity was very high as well, but you’ll have to wait and hear Christina’s side of it.
What a lovely visit! It must be wonderful to share the garden with a fellow blogger. The heat sounds exhausting, I do hope it cools down for you soon
A very nice experience indeed Matt. The weather forecast looks bleak for the foreseeable future. Rather amazing really.
Sounds like a great visit. I’m glad it was fun for all of you!!
Thank you! They were great companions and we packed a lot into a short time.
Getting to spend a day with Christina would be a treat indeed. 100 degrees? Whew! Still, heat can’t dampen the spirits of blogging friends meeting.
You’re right. We had such fun, despite the unfortunate weather. It’s usually hot here in the summer but these are abnormal temperatures paired with no rain for a long while.
The hot humid weather couldn’t dampen my enjoyment in meeting you Susie. We had such a great day with you, thank you so much.
Thanks, we loved every minute of it.
I’m glad you could meet up with Christina and share a few local sights! The white garden looks nice and cool. Hope the heatwave is over soon Susie.
It was lovely to meet Christina and I discovered things about Duke Gardens I didn’t know, The White Garden being one of them. The white color scheme did seem to have a cooling effect. It was 97F earlier today. The garden is crispy, despite an overnight thunderstorm. I’m very worried about the shrubs and trees. Hope you’re doing well.
It sounds as if you had a great time with lovely Christina, she is such good company. What a treat you had lined up for her, Duke Gardens look amazing.
She is lovely and it was a great time. She passed on your warming greeting which I very much appreciated. We a fortunate to have at least three public gardens close by, easy to stop in at no charge, and always filled with ideas.
Christina and her husband are lucky they had you for their regional guide. I concur that Duke Gardens would be wonderful to visit.
Thanks so much Jason. We certainly enjoyed meeting them. Duke Gardens is very nice at any time of the year. If you’re ever coming this way please let me know. Would enjoy meeting you and Judy and showing you around. There’s also JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh at NC State and the local NC Botanical Gardens at UNC Chapel Hill is nice too. The new director is just starting this summer and comes from the Lady Bird Wildlife Center, so will be interesting to see where he takes this garden.
I will certainly let you know if we are ever in the area.
How wonderful to have Christina visit and she lucky to see your lovely gardens and surrounding area. I am glad you had a wonderful visit.
Thanks Donna. It was a very special occasion.