Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Gardens Around Miami

By Maria Cabrera


When anyone mentions the city of Miami, the first things that many folks recall are the beautiful beaches and the active nightlife. But there are more attractions available to those who need to experience something unique during their trip to Miami. These are the various floral gardens in Miami, Miami public parks and nature preserves that will delight both locals and visitors.

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

This is proving to be one of the floral gardens Miami is famous for, especially its palm trees and other tropical plants. The Windows to the Tropic section brings a real example of a rainforest to the visitor, with the plants, rainfall and humidity found in those areas. The plants range from indigenous plants from Florida to rainforest species from South America. This garden also includes the Lisa D. Anness Butterfly Garden, a garden that has plants used to attract over 30 different species of butterflies. Also incorporated in the Fairchild Gardens are the Arboretum and an area for succulent plants.

The Kampong

This garden is an oasis set in the Miami metropolitan area. At this garden, patrons can view many plants not generally found on our continent. These include the Sausage Tree, named for its long fruits, as well as a 100 year old Baobab tree from Tanzania. Collections include plants from the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and Central and South America. Because of the large range of plants here, many universities use this garden to enhance their experience in their horticulture classes. If a visitor is searching for something unique, the Kampong Garden is the garden to visit.

Miami Beach Botanical Garden

This garden, though a bit little, is packed with numerous examples of maximizing space with plant exhibits. Constructed in 1962, it is getting ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Here, one will find a Japanese garden together with collections of orchids. There are examples of vertical landscaping, often more popularly known as a living wall. Water is also an important resource here, and so there are a few water gardens. This is another example of the floral gardens Miami has to offer to its visitors and residents.

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens

The gardens and museum here have been praised as a National Historic Landmark. The gardens are a mix of French and Italian designs. They consist of outdoor areas or rooms with focal points such as fountains, raised islands, elegant statues and a centrally located pool. The 10 acres of gardens include sub-tropical forests as well as a enormous Orchid Garden.

Fruit and Spice Park

This unique site, part of Miami public parks is found in the midst of enormous areas of tropical foliage. Here, one will find more than 500 differing kinds of spices, nuts, exotic fruits and herbs. These include 70 kinds of bamboo, 80 types of bananas as well as many variations of grapes and mangoes. There is no other garden of this kind in the US. Visitors are welcome, and may sample the things grown here that have fallen off plants naturally.

Parrot Jungle and Gardens

When walking through these gardens, one might forget they are only a short distance from a big city. The gardens, in addition to a lake, streams and waterfalls, are home to 1200 types of exotic plants such as bromeliads, bananas and orchids. Many tropical animals live in Parrot Jungle, such as local mammals, tropical birds and even some endangered baby apes. Not limited to the gardens and animal exhibits, a reproduction of the Everglades is also available. This exhibit employs the plant and animal life of the Everglades, including alligators.




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