The Orchid Greenhouse at Duke’s Estate – Hillsborough, NJ

Back at Duke’s, this time in the rain, to a spot I have eagerly been awaiting!

I took one of Duke Farms Walking Waterfall Tours in February and had this spot book marked for a rainy day, literally! We ended the tour in a big, beautiful greenhouse home to thousands of orchids. It’s like walking into the rain forest, no matter what the weather is doing outside, a open sanctuary can be found here in the warmth. A great place to practice if you like hot yoga because damn!! It was so humid and hot but that’s part of what drew me in. It felt like a complete detox to move in the heat with just the sounds of the water running under the bridge.

I had mentally bookmarked this space because I noticed, mid day at least, no one was around. I’m not one to unroll my mat and ignore that other people are sharing the space, so I thought it was a safe bet to go on a rainy day, about noon. When its raining, or even after a rainy day when the ground is still wet, it’s the kind of mood that makes me want to stretch and smell the earth. While I have practiced outside in the rain, I’m not always in the mood to get muddy and wet. The greenhouse offered me more vegetation to pull energy from and the warmth seeped into my muscles and let me stretch freely, like just sitting in there was a warm up.

Directions: Visitors parking on the right after you pull off of Dukes Parkway West. Take the path to the left, across from the parking lot and walk all the way down to the cross walk to cross the street. From there, pass the waterfall/pond on the left and continue down the straight path lined with large sycamore trees. You’ll pass the old Hay Barn on the right! Continue all the way down the path until you seen the greenhouse, following the signs to the Orchid Range. There’s also a trolley stop right out front if the tram is running while you’re there!

EXTRA: To the left of the greenhouse you’ll see a huge field, which is where my other Dukes Estate Ever Unlikely yoga spot is! To check that out, click on the post titled “The Old Foundation”.