Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens, Coral Gables, FL

Another day trip in the Miami area was to the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens. 
Verlin and Nancy have visited these gardens several times and wanted us to see it.  Of course, no one needed to persuade me - I am always ready to visit a garden! 

Both tram rides and walking tours were included with our ticket to these gardens.  We chose a walking tour with a very well-informed, educator/guide.  Her knowledge really helped to understand the plants we were seeing - and most were quite foreign to someone not from the tropics.  One interesting, overlying theme was how fast and large tropical plants grow!

Nancy and I checking out the size of this tree

These gardens, and their creator, have quite a history.  Dr. David Fairchild (1869-1954), a famous, worldwide plant explorer and collector, established the Section of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction in the US Department of Agriculture in 1891 at age 22.  For decades, he searched for plants that could have beneficial use for people in our country.  His early collections included mangos, alfalfa, dates, cotton and soybeans. 

Upon retirement in 1935, Dr. Fairchild moved to the Miami area. Collaborating with a core group of botanical experts and conservationists, he established these botanical gardens on an 83-acre site south of Miami (now known as Coral Gables).  The grounds are so expansive, with lakes, buildings, and open-air collections,  it was impossible to see it all in one day (though we tried).

The palms and cycads are quite extensive, bromeliads were everywhere. 

Palms, as some may not realize, are not trees, but members of the grass plant family. So, the Florida state tree, the Sabal Palm, is a grass.

Cycads, while they look similar to palms, are very ancient plants and have changed very little since the Jurassic period of time.  These plants are dioecious - each plant is either a female or male.  Also, cycads are very slow growing, and individuals can live for many centuries.  Seeing so many specimens of cycads, from tropical areas all over the world was a real treat! I didn't get the species names but here are some good specimens.

A very old cycad (by height) with female cone

Another female, but younger (short)

A male cycad - cone is downward

A display of orchids emphasized that they are air plants, since they were attached to tree limbs throughout a small forested area.

At the edge of the orchid display were two young raccoons out searching for tidbits in the undergrowth.

We also discovered a large soft-shell turtle in one of the lakes, who seemed to be as curious about us as we were with it.

One of the permanent, indoor exhibits is the South Florida Butterfly Garden.  A great place for Gary to try photographing these quick moving, beautiful creatures.

Small lizard sharing the butterfly's fruit

The Spiny Forest of Madagascar looked a little bit like plants from Arizona.

Nancy was careful with her grip on this spiney succulent

The Vine Pergola was magnificent - the size of the vines reflected the age of some of these beautiful plants.

Last year, these gardens had a Chihuly Glass event that was spectacular.  Fortunately, some pieces were kept as permanent displays. Part of our agenda was to find the Chihuly glass as we toured the gardens.

Nancy and I by Blue Heron Chihuly Glass sculpture

Near the above exhibit were a couple of really colorful lizards; no idea exactly what they were, but they seemed used to visitors.

Along the way, we also checked out some unique artist designed "chairs" - some were very modern, while another, more rustic seat was carved from a section of a giant tropical tree.  Although both were comfortable, the tree seat was the perfect resting spot before returning to the car and driving in the Miami area traffic.

Time to relax

Maybe someday we'll have time to revisit these gardens and see the many acres we missed on this visit.  The variety of things to see and do in the Miami/ Fort Lauderdale area is so great - from the Everglades to formal gardens!