Horticulture

Unless otherwise specified, all horticultural opportunities occur weekdays, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. all year. Volunteers assisting with horticulture-related opportunities are asked to make a minimum commitment of 2 hours per week. Specific horticulture opportunities include:

Grounds Assistant: Learn planting skills, pruning techniques and other garden maintenance tips from the horticultural staff, as you help to maintain this premier 55 acre public garden. This opportunity enables you to work in all areas throughout the grounds.

Perennial Assistant: Various collections of perennials, planted throughout the grounds, need routine maintenance to keep this dynamic collection in excellent condition. Weeding, pruning, transplanting and dividing are among the tasks to perform in this area.

Propagation Assistant: Taking cuttings, collecting seed, dividing and transplanting are several of the needs to further the horticultural collections as well as preparing surplus plants for the plant sale.

Trails Assistant: Rake, sweep, remove broken and fallen branches and help to keep the many trails and paths throughout Duke Gardens safe for its many visitors.

Collections Assistant: "Adopt" specific collections of plantings and assume the maintenance requirements to care for them.

Rose Garden Assistant: Pruning, deadheading, fertilizing along with other general maintenance are needed to keep the 300+ rose collection thriving. The collections of David Austin Roses and selections of Asian species also need attention. April - November commitment.

Iris Garden Assistant: Weeding, staking, deadheading, and fertilizing the assorted collections of iris throughout the grounds. Help to maintain Duke Gardens' first plant.

Greenhouse Assistant: Maintain the horticultural greenhouses to ensure the plants have optimal growing conditions by assisting with weed control, pruning, planting, transplanting, watering and fertilization of various plants and reporting any insect or disease problems to the appropriate staff person.

Arboretum Assistant: Assist the horticulturist in maintaining this 20-acre collection of Asian and American plant species. Adopt specific areas within the arboretum and assume the responsibility and care of these plantings.

Nursery Assistant: Assist with maintaining the nursery of plants to prepare them for incorporation into the permanent collection through potting, watering, fertilization, weed control, pruning and mulching.

Terraces Assistant: Help maintain the historical core of Duke Gardens by providing hands-on maintenance in planting, watering, fertilizing, weed control, pruning and mulching. Work directly with staff to remove and install seasonal plantings.

What’s in Bloom: Looking for a good excuse to get some exercise? This is the opportunity for you. We are seeking people who could commit to a regular schedule (weekly preferred) to visit and document particular plantings throughout the year. We are looking specifically for bloom patterns, seed formation and leaf coloration with the changing seasons. Volunteers can enjoy a leisurely stroll through the Gardens alone or with a friend and record the necessary data on a spreadsheet. This information will be entered into our plant accessions database and can be made available to visitors.

E pluribus unum: “Out of many, one” the motto of the United States of America and appears on every piece of US currency. We gave that motto a little twist for the Sarah P. Duke Gardens - “Many hands helping to beautify one Garden.” If your available volunteer time is erratic, this is the Volunteer opportunity for you! We’re making it easy for volunteers who can give an hour or two at a time to just “drop in.” There are quick but important tasks that you can help do, whether it is taking a garbage bag and walking the grounds to remove unsightly debris left by visitors, grabbing a rake and tidying up our many paths and planting beds or grabbing a shovel and helping to clear a drain prior to or just after a storm. All of these activities and others are vital to the overall appearance of the Garden.