By Sarah Leach Smith, Visitor Services Coordinator
Photos by Jason Holmes, Doris Duke Center Gardens Curator
Trees stand as silent sentinels, witnessing celebrations and disasters throughout history. Imagine what the trees of Duke Gardens could tell you about the Civil War in this country, the first human on the moon or the musical sounds of the Big Bands in the 1940s. The trees at Duke Gardens have also heard the echoes of many great speeches over the past centuries, from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first inaugural address in 1933.
Here at Duke Gardens, we invite you to treasure these witness trees and learn their stories.
|Iconic southern magnolia in the Historic Gardens.|
One of the most iconic southern trees is the southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), and Duke Gardens is often remembered for the many southern magnolias growing in the Historic Gardens. These trees began their life at the Gardens as saplings, planted in 1938. Their huge, fragrant, creamy white flowers, thick evergreen leaves and sturdy low branches invite visitors to enjoy the trees’ embrace.
Our southern magnolias grew tall and strong while World War II was raging in Europe, and the university placed a priority on studies in engineering, chemistry research and medical advancements so that we could do our part in the war effort.
Another significant species in our collection is dawn redwood (Metasequoia gylptostroboides), which can be found between the Historic Terraces and Fisher Amphitheater. It is an unusual tree, because the leaves are needles but are not evergreen. The needles of a dawn redwood drop in autumn just like maple and oak leaves do.
|This dawn redwood has had quite a life.|
Fossils show that dawn redwood was a dominant tree in much of the Northern Hemisphere about 90 million to 150 million years ago. That means that dawn redwood species were around during the time of the dinosaurs and have also seen the evolution of humans. These trees were largely believed to be extinct until a few living trees were surprisingly discovered in a remote part of western China in 1941. Seeds collected from that Chinese population were germinated at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University in 1948.
The following year, one of those original seedlings was planted here at Duke Gardens. That dawn redwood still stands, marked with a plaque and surrounded by a chain stanchion for protection. In its lifetime, Neil Armstrong was the first human to walk on the moon and Duke University was desegregated. We have since planted additional dawn redwoods to ensure that there will always be a healthy specimen in our tree collection.
|Gorgeous fall color of the maidenhair tree.|
Near our dawn redwood is a large maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba). Like dawn redwood, it is considered a living fossil. Fossil records for the maidenhair tree date back to more than 200 million years ago! Our large specimen was planted approximately 50 years ago, and it puts on an amazing color show each fall as the leaves turn golden yellow and rain down on the grass below. Since its installation, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his momentous “I Have a Dream” speech and Johnny Carson hosted his final episode of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”
Though it’s called the Historic Gardens, this area of Duke Gardens is not the only place you will find historic trees. Venture over to the Culberson Asiatic Arboretum to see more notable specimens.
Entering the arboretum from the Mary Duke Biddle Rose Garden, you will see a substantial American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis). Sycamores are easily identifiable by their large tent-like leaves and by their exfoliating bark, which peels back to reveal a white and light gray mottled smooth inner bark. This specimen was likely planted here by a person, as sycamores typically grow in fine-grained organic soil made up of river deposits, and Duke Gardens has a different soil type.
This sycamore is at least 75 years old and has been through a lot since being planted here—you can see an interesting cavity coming down the 