Gardens Throughout Miami

By Maria Cabrera


When a person mentions the city of Miami, the first images that many people bring to mind are the gorgeous beaches and the colorful nightlife. However , there are more attractions available to those who want to experience something else 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 definitely one of the botanical gardens Miami is celebrated for, especially its palms and other tropical plants. The Windows to the Tropic section brings a real example of a rainforest to the visitor, together with the plants, rainfall and humidity found in those areas. The plants range all the way from native plants from Florida to rainforest species from South America. This garden also can include the Lisa D. Anness Butterfly Garden, a garden that has plants used to entice over 30 different kinds of butterflies. Also included in the Fairchild Gardens are the Arboretum and an area for succulent plants.

The Kampong

The Kampong garden is an oasis set inside the Miami metropolitan area. At this garden, one can view many plants not generally found on our continent. These include the Sausage Tree, named for its long fruits, as well as a hundred year old Baobab tree from Tanzania. Collections include plants from the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and Central and South America. Due to the great variety of plants here, many researchers use this garden to complement their experience in their botany classes. If a visitor is attempting to find something unique, the Kampong is the one to visit.

Miami Beach Botanical Garden

This garden, though relatively little, is packed with numerous examples of using space with plant exhibits. Built in 1962, it is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Here, one will find a Japanese garden together with collections of orchids. There are examples of vertical landscaping, occasionally generally known as a living wall. Water is also an important ingredient here, and so there are a few water gardens. This is another example of the botanical gardens Miami has to offer to its patrons.

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens

The gardens and museum here have been honored as a National Historic Landmark. The gardens are a mixture of French and Italian designs. They consist of out of doors areas or rooms with focal points including raised islands, elegant statues, fountains and a centrally located pool. The 10 acres of gardens include subtropical forests as well as a huge Orchid Garden.

Fruit and Spice Park

This unique site, part of Miami public parks is situated in the middle of gigantic areas of tropical farming. Here, one will find more than 500 different sorts of spices, nuts, exotic fruits and herbs. These include 70 types of bamboo, 80 kinds of bananas as well as many adaptations of grapes and mangoes. There is no other garden of this sort in the United States. Visitors are welcome, and can sample the things grown here that have fallen off plants naturally.

Parrot Jungle and Gardens

When walking through these gardens, one might forget that they are only a short way from an important town. The gardens, along with streams, waterfalls and a lake, are home to 1200 kinds of exotic plants such as bromeliads, bananas and orchids. Many tropical animals live in Parrot Jungle, such as indigenous mammals, tropical birds and even some endangered baby apes. As well as the gardens and animal exhibits, a copy of the Everglades is also available. This exhibit makes use of the plant and animal life of the Everglades, including alligators.




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