South of Miami the shore is lined with yacht clubs,
stone-walled grand mansions and the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. The FTBG was founded in 1936 as an institute of
science, education and culture paralleling the emergence of Miami itself as a cultural center. With 83 acres of gardens,
trails, lakes, science pavilions and art exhibits, any ($25!) visitor will be
amazed.
It’s spring in this tropical (zone 10 out of 10) garden!
Trees and shrubs are in bloom, butterflies are grazing and volunteers re
cleaning the beds in prep for the 10th Annual International Orchid Festival
(10,000 orchids, and exhibitors from all over the world).
The non-gardener with me thought the purple-blue flower of the
Giant Milkweed looked like a sci-fi pod. My favourite was how an artist
scattered giant red rose petals near the giant rose sculpture. (Note to all the gardeners back home --- yes
I wrote down a lot of botanical names!)
It’s amazing that this non-commercial place exists. David Fairchild
was the globe-trotting scientist who gathered the thousands of specimens.
Marjory Douglas was the champion fund-raiser and plants-are-important
visionary. I left her masterpiece excited at what could appear in my garden
---- you would too!
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