Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is an 83-acre (34 ha) botanic garden with extensive rare tropical plants, including palms, cycads, flowering trees, and vines. It is located in Coral Gables, Miami, Florida, the United States, just south of Miami, surrounded at the north and west by Matheson Hammock Park. Fairchild opened to the public in 1938. Fairchild is a museum, laboratory, learning center, and conservation research facility whose primary role is preserving biodiversity. It has 45,000 members and more than 1,200 volunteers. In 2012, Fairchild became the home of the American Orchid Society. A1 Bed Bug Exterminator Miami
The garden was established in 1936 by Robert H. Montgomery (1872–1953), an accountant, attorney, and businessman with a passion for plant-collecting. Montgomery pursued the creation of a botanical garden in Miami. He purchased the 83-acre site along Biscayne Bay and later deeded it primarily to Miami-Dade County. Montgomery named the park after his friend, renowned plant explorer David Fairchild (1869–1954). Fairchild’s travels brought more than 75,000 plants to the United States, including Pima cotton, Durham wheat, mangos, alfalfa, nectarines, dates, horseradish, bamboos, and flowering cherry trees. David Fairchild had retired to Miami in 1935 after a long career at the USDA, establishing the Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction Bureau. Many plants still growing in the Garden were collected and planted by him, including a giant African baobab tree. The garden was designed by landscape architect William Lyman Phillips, a Frederick Law Olmsted partnership member and a leading landscape designer in South Florida during the 1930s. He obtained his landscape architecture degree from Harvard in 1910.
Collection
The collection at Fairchild Gardens includes rare palms, cycads, orchids, and bromeliads. The groups also include different varieties of ginger. Fairchild has the most extensive collection of tropical bamboo globally, with 125 species. The Michaux Bahamas Collection includes native woody plants and flora from botanical expeditions to the Bahamian islands.
Research and Conservation
Fairchild scientists conserve tropical plants, attempting to avoid species extinction and habitats. This work leads to quantifiable conservation benefits to Fairchild’s priority geographic investment regions (South Florida, Caribbean, oceanic islands, tropical Africa, and Madagascar) and plant groups (palms, cycads, tropical fruit, and tropical trees).
Restaurants and Pubs
- Doc B’s Restaurant is located at 301 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, FL.
- Whisk Gourmet Food & Catering is located at 7382 SW 56th Ave, South Miami, FL.
- The Mighty is located at 2224 SW 22nd St, Miami, FL.
Check out other attractions like Jungle Island