Duke Farms As Park For The Public
Duke Farms is owned by the Duke Farms Foundation (DFF) that was established in 1998 to manage the estate. The Foundation, in turn, is part of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. A decision was made to renovate the estate as "a model of environmental stewardship in the 21st Century and (to) inspire visitors to become informed stewards of the land." While reorganizing the estate little was accessible to the public. In 2008, the DFF created some controversy when it permanently closed Duke Gardens demolishing the indoor display gardens that had been created by Doris Duke. Over years the DFF created new indoor and outdoor display gardens that are eco-friendly, use native plants, and are wheelchair accessible. In the process of rehabilitation numerous invasive foreign plants were removed including Norwegian maple and Asian Ailanthus and replaced by native species. The property has a number of notable trees, namely four of the ten oldest trees of New Jersey. and two champion trees, a Great Oak and an Amur Cork Tree. As part of the rehabilitation the conservatory and greenhouses known as the Orchid Range were renovated and became more energy-efficient. The Farm Barn was remodeled to become the Orientation Center. Duke Farms was opened to the public on May 19, 2012 offering daily free access to visitors (except Wednesdays).
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