Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Gardens Around Miami

By Maria Cabrera


When anyone references the city of Miami, the 1st images that many travelers bring to mind are the attractive beaches and the exciting nightlife. However , there are more attractions available to those who would like to experience something different during their trip to Miami. These are the various floral gardens in Miami, Miami public parks and nature preserves that may delight both locals and visitors.

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

This is proving to be one of the floral gardens Miami is famous for, particularly its palms and other tropical plants. The Windows to the Tropic section brings an illustration of a rainforest to the visitor, together with the plants, rainfall and humidity found in those areas. The plants range all the way from local 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 draw in over 30 different kinds of butterflies. Also combined in the Fairchild Gardens are the Arboretum and an area for succulent plants.

The Kampong

This garden is an oasis set inside the Miami metropolitan area. At this garden, one can view many plants not customarily 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 Far East and Central and South America. Due to the large selection of plants here, many universities use this garden to improve their experience in their botany and horticulture classes. If a visitor is attempting to find something unique, the Kampong Garden is the garden to visit.

Miami Beach Botanical Garden

This garden, though comparatively tiny, is packed with numerous examples of utilizing space with plant arrangements. 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, often generally known as a living wall. Water is also an important resource here, and so there are many water gardens. This is another example of the botanical 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 are comprised of outdoor areas or rooms with focal points like raised islands, elegant statues, fountains and a centrally located pool. The near dozen 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 located in the center of enormous areas of tropical foliage. Here, one will find more than 500 different types of nuts, exotic fruits, spices and herbs. These include 70 kinds of bamboo, 80 kinds of bananas as well as many variations of grapes and mangoes. There is not any other garden of this sort in the U. S.. Visitors are welcome, and can sample the items grown here that have fallen off plants naturally.

Parrot Jungle and Gardens

When walking through these gardens, travelers might forget that they are only a short way from a big city. The gardens, in addition to a lake, streams and waterfalls, are home to 1200 types of exotic plants such as orchids, bromeliads and bananas. Many tropical animals live in Parrot Jungle, for example native mammals, tropical birds and even some endangered baby apes. As well as the gardens and animal exhibits, a replica of the Everglades is also available. This exhibit utilizes the plant and animal life of the Everglades, including alligators.




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