Explore a Tropical Paradise

Did you know there’s only one spot in the continental U.S. where tropical plants are able to thrive outdoors year-round? This tropical paradise, near the Florida Keys, in Coral Gables, Florida, is the site of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, one of the premier tropical botanical gardens in the world. Nowhere else will you see in one place such an amazing collection of palm trees, exotic flowering plants and vines, and lush rain forests.

The moment you enter Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, Fla., you are transported to the tropics. It is the only garden of its kind in the United States, encompassing 83 acres of rare tropical plant collections and native wildlife.

More than 350,000 people visit Fairchild annually to take in these incredible plant displays including a 16,400-square-foot conservatory featuring 1,900 species of rare palms and cycads, ferns, orchids, bromeliads, fruit trees and other tropical plant specimens; the Palmetum, a world-renowned display and research collection of palm trees from all over the world; a butterfly conservatory containing host plants for more than 30 species of native butterflies; and 8 acres of tropical flowering trees collected from all tropical regions of the world. You can also tour a 4-acre collection of plants native to South Florida and see birds and other wildlife native to the Florida Keys.

Fairchild’s beautiful Bailey Palm Glade features a display of unusual palm trees and provides incredible views of mangrove preserves and Biscayne Bay.

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, which opened to the public in 1938, is the oldest major cultural institution in Miami-Dade County. It is named for Dr. David Fairchild (1869-1954), founder of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction Section. Many plants still growing at Fairchild were collected and planted by Dr. Fairchild, including a giant African baobab tree. Fairchild Garden is open every day of the year, except Dec. 25. For more information, visit www.fairchildgarden.org.

The Lisa D. Anness Butterfly Garden displays host plants for more than 30 species of native butterflies, serving as an important educational resource for local gardeners.

At Fairchild’s Palmetum, you can see a collection of palm trees of all shapes, textures and sizes from all over the world.

In this paradise of the exotic and beautiful, you will dazzled by the sight and heady fragrances of colorful orchids and tropical flowering plants of all kinds.

Explore Fairchild’s rainforest and find yourself walking along a rushing stream with waterfalls and petite cascades.

A breathtaking sunrise over one of Fairchild’s 11 lakes.