After our adventure at the Deering Estate (link to post is here) we headed up Old Cutler Road to the Fairchild Garden. On a side note- I really love Old Cutler Road and it’s one of my favorite drives in Miami. It’s a two-lane road bordered by a lot of tall banyan trees that arch over the road. There also are a lot of cool homes in Coral Gables and Pinecrest that also make the drive a cool one.
The Fairchild Garden is mentioned often as a sight to check out in Miami. A number of my students also participate in the Fairchild Challenge, which has some cool competitions that require the kids to work on large-scale projects. I have been there once before for a luncheon for Teach For America, but we didn’t spend much time there. It was also the middle of June and I had just moved to Miami so lets be honest I wasn’t going to venture far from the air conditioned banquet room, much less out into the open hot sun.
What I was really impressed about Fairchild was what a large operation is it. I knew it was a large garden, but they had numerous visitor stations all around the garden, a lakeside cafe and smoothie stand, a gift shop and meeting rooms. There also is a tram that takes visitors around for a tour. It’s understandable why it’s a top sight in Miami being so large and popular.
We got there around 3 PM and had an hour and a half to explore the gardens. We definitely saw a lot although we passed by a corner of the garden due to our time constraints. The garden is divided up into different sections mainly based on type of plant and/or origin. They have sections from the rainforest to jewels of the Caribbean, to regular Florida palms and grasslands. Many of these sections surround numerous lakes that are in the gardens. There also is a couple pavilions that have plants in them.
My favorite were the two pavilions (with some of the most colorful flowers), the butterfly garden (unfortunately the pics didn’t come out clear enough from there), and the rainforest complete with a large stream (random side note- that took me back to memories along the water in Oregon). Overall I loved all the different colors that were around. I’ll let the pictures speak for the rest of our trip but Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden is a great place to check out, explore, and enjoy the beauty of the gardens.
One of the streams that took me back to memories along the water in Oregon
The rainforest section
Some flowers inside one of the pavilions
Only as you look closer do you really realize how awesome the colors are
One of the many pieces of art in the garden
Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden- 10901 Old Cutler Road Coral Gables, FL
http://www.fairchildgarden.org/
