So, this is considered my post of January 28th...I think I am almost caught up!!
A few weekends ago, my husband and I went to a charming festival at one of the neatest sites in Miami -- the Chocolate Festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
Fairchild is an 83-acre tropical botanic garden that opened in 1938. It has an extensive collection of rare tropical plants, tropical fruit trees, vines and succulents. The garden includes many collections and displays such as the tropical flower garden, spiny forest of Madagascar, rain forest, vine pergola, Victoria amazonica pool, butterfly garden, palmetum, tropical fruit pavilion, conservatory, Bailey Palm Glade, Jewels of the Caribbean, and the Keys Coastal Habitat. It is located down in South Miami -- a world's away from the craziness of South Beach. It is named after David Fairchild, one of the world's most famous plant explorers.
When you walk in, the sheer vastness of the place is astounding -- there are acres and acres of beautiful gardens as far as the eye can see. There are basically two ways to tackle Fairchild -- one is to walk, which on a beautiful day, is a pure joy and the other way, which is better on a humid South Florida day, is to take the tram tour. There is a free tram tour that leaves periodically that takes you all around the gardens. You can get on and off it as you like in order to stop and take a closer look. There is usually a very cute, sweet volunteer who leads these tours. They are always highly entertaining. There are also guided walking tours on various topics also led by Fairchild volunteers.
Another cool thing about Fairchild is that it presents various art exhibits within the gardens. These art exhibits rotate, so you can see a new one every few months. As you are walking around the gardens, you may run into a Botero or a Chiluly. It really elevates the gardens to the next level and is just gorgeous. When you get to the front desk to buy your ticket, they can provide you with a map of the gardens that shows you where the various pieces of art are located. There is also a little cafe if you need to stop for a break and a little bookshop that sells cute little garden goodies.
TIP: I referenced the Chocolate Festival that takes place at Fairchild. Besides that festival, Fairchild has a ton of special events throughout the year. I would highly recommend checking their website to see if there are any special events taking place during your trip to Miami.
While most people come to Miami for beach time and partying, I would highly recommend taking a side trip to Fairchild to soak in the beauty of natural world.
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
10901 Old Cutler Road
Coral Gables, FL 33156
Phone: 305-667-1651
http://www.fairchildgarden.org/
