The Best Botanical Garden in North America
I’ve been to more than 100 botanical gardens around the world. It’s sort of my thing. In fact, I usually travel with a local garden in mind. That shouldn’t be surprising, given that, in addition to being a Master Gardener, I’m an environmental scientist with more than 250 houseplants and a few acres of gardens around my home. Visiting new gardens and seeing the different cultivars, landscape trends, and unique cultural elements is half the fun of traveling. While I loved visiting the Gardens of Versailles in Paris, Moksa Moss Garden in Kyoto, and Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden, Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden in Miami, Florida, was the best garden I’ve ever seen. From the incredible diversity of plant, animal, and bird life, to the dense planting, unique landscapes and features, and sheer size of this garden, it’s a can’t-miss attraction in Southern Florida. Here are some of my favorite photos from the best botanical garden in North America.
Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden
Built: 1936-1938
Size: 83 Acres
Special Designation: Rare Fruit Garden,
Home of the Only Tropical Rainforest in the Continental US
Member of American Horticultural Society (AHS): Yes
Location: Miami, Florida
Address: 10901 Old Cutler Road
Admission Price: $30 or Free with AHS Membership
Cloud Forest + National Orchid Garden
This is the only tropical rainforest in the continental United States! The next closest would be in Hawaii, a cool 4,800 miles away. I’d never seen anything like this, and it was so amazing to stroll through such a densely planted, lush garden. See for yourself how stunning this unique biome is through my photos, and by visiting the next time you’re in Miami. Even the best photos simply don’t do it justice!
Tropical Plant Conservatory + Rare Plant House
At first glance, this conservatory looks like many others— lovingly stuffed to the brim with plants. That is, until you realize that some of these plants only grow in a handful of other places on Earth. Walking through and enjoying the foliage, the biodiversity, and the magnificent presentation was a true pleasure, one I won’t soon forget!
Walking through here felt like being inside Jurassic Park, and I mean that in the best way because it’s one of my favorite movie series. We were the only ones here, and it felt so private and wild. The rare plant house is where the Fairchild team places plants from further south that can’t withstand the cold winter nights outdoors. It’s also where they experimentally learn to care for uncommon and rare plants before placing them in the appropriate outdoor environments. We recognized many plants and flowers here, but some we’d never seen before!
Rare Tropical Fruit Walk
There wasn’t much in bloom (or fruiting) here during our visit, but that’s typical this time of year. Even so, the Rare Tropical Fruit Walk at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden was a delightful time.
The Rest of the Gardens
This post would be 300 pages long if I shared everything we saw and did at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden. Instead of spoiling the fun, I’ll leave you with a few more of my favorite photos from our visit, mainly from around the Palm Glade & Palm Collection. I took nearly 1,000 just here, if that tells you how much I adored this place. I sincerely hope that if you have the opportunity to visit, you’ll do so. I’d fly back to Miami just to see this garden again!
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