Heading to Fairchild Botanical Garden. Miami, FL

[Logolight]

I'll be there this weekend.  Anyone else been there?

[Ken Johnson]

I live close to FTBG. Need info?

[Fred Zone 10A]

My wife and I visited our daughter in Miami in 2003 and the only place I insisted on seeing was the Fairchild.  The three of us went one day.  The next day I let them go shopping and went back to the Fairchild on my own.

It's an awesome place and well worth the visit.  I was particularly fascinated to see all of the palms that just won't grow here in California.

Take sun screen and a hat.  It will be hot!

[Kathy]

Lucky you!  It's a fabulous palm-heaven place.  Take extra water, lots of camera memory/film, and photograph the plant signs as well as the palm, 'cuz you won't remember everything you saw!  Take a pic of you with a favorite and post it for us -- we'd all love that.   Don't miss the conservatory, the waterfalls, .....and you'll feel like you're in New York, you'll be looking up so much!

Have fun.

[Jeff Searle]

Great !  Like Kathy said, bring lots of camera gear.and one small thing I always take on my travels is a small notepad and pen, to write plenty of notes.

  It's been pretty hot here lately, so bring a hat. If time permits, try to visit some of us local growers and or nurserman. Palm freaks are always welcomed.  ENJOY !

[Dave-Vero]

Check out the Garden's website beforehand.  

-They're working hard at presenting tropical fruits to the public.

-The new parking area and store is very nice.  They have some books that aren't available elsewhere.

-The garden is big.  Allow plenty of time and be prepared to be outside in summer weather.  Some highlights:

*Conservatories (fruits, heliconias, orchids, etc.  Yes, they benefit from protection.

*Cycads at the main vista (it's the visual highlight of the garden, with big Bismarkias).  The monster ponytail "palm" is nearby.

*Rain Forest was damaged in Wilma--the wind came from the "wrong" direction, which was bad for some of the big live oaks.

*It's worth going to the lowlands (filled mangrove).  Some wonderful palms, and they've been working on a mini-Bahamas and other goodies.

* I may be mistaken, but I think the palm collection is now aimed primarily at the New World, for a number of reasons.

*The Garden is especially interested in the Bahamas and the Caribbean.  You can get a good intro to the regional flora.  

Fairchild was north of the worst devastation from hurricane Andrew.  Help from outside (including the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) helped save many plants, and speedy righting of tipped or flattened palms was a big success.  The worst short-term problem was, ironically, dry weather combined with no running water.  It wasn't possible to water damaged plants or wash out salt in the lowland areas that had flooded.  Afterward, the Garden got funding for a new irrigation system and for plant collecting trips to the Caribbean, including Cuba.

Matheson Hammock Park next door has a real tropical hammock on the west side of Old Cutler Road, which was damaged by Andrew but recovered with the help of a program to control aggressive vines.  On the east side of Old Cutler Road is a very good upscale restaurant at the beach.  The beach area is a leftover from the Great Depression, I think.

[Dave Butler]

Does it have a food court :cool:

[kylecawazafla]

yes it does have a food court kind of, or a restaurant.

[Logolight]

Thanks everyone for all the good info.  Thier website says they're having a sale at the shop this weekend.  Everything in the store is 20-75% off.  I'd like to pick up the book "Betrock's Cultivated Palms of the World".  It looks like it would have alot of good information in it.

[JD in the OC]

Everything did get rocked by the hurricane season last year.  I liked their Orania palindan, Dypsis lanceolata, Carpoxylon grove (grown from seed collected by Dr. Scott Zone in Vanuatu), Syagrus xcosta, Pseudophoenix ledeliana (sp?), big Bismarks, and they even have a small Chambeyronia houilou that was just planted it looked like.  These were the highlight palms for me.  If you find the conference hall on the right side of the park, as someone if Dr. Zona is working,  or is there.  He was happy to talk palms with me when I was there.

Have fun!

JD

[Kathy]

(Jeff Searle @ Jul. 27 2006,17:31)

QUOTE

If time permits, try to visit some of us local growers and or nurserman. Palm freaks are always welcomed.  ENJOY !

Yes, like Jeff said, I had an amazing time visiting growers/nurseries also.  Immense places, and the admission is free!  What we in California have in grape farms and dairy farms, Florida has in palm farms (and orchid farms).....it's just jaw-dropping.