Sunday, February 02, 2014

Miami’s Kampong Tropical Garden

Yesterday I visited a garden in Miami I did not know existed.  The Kampong Tropical Garden, located in the middle of busy Miami near the Coconut Grove neighborhood.  The grounds where the garden is located, was the original home of Dr. David Fairchild in the early 1900’s.  The property was designated a national historic site, and donated in the sixties to The National Tropical Botanic Garden.  A not-for-profit institution, dedicated to tropical plant research, conservation, and education.
The Kampong (a Javanese word for a village) is one of six tropical gardens in the US, and the only one located in the mainland, the other five are in Hawaii. The garden has a tremendous collection of tropical plants, flowers and fruit trees, and is open for tours by appointments only.   

 Large Banyan tree
 Baobab or Dead Rat tree from SE Asia



















 Star Fruit or Carambola
 The Asok or Sorrowless tree, the flowers bloom from the trunk of the tree.





A different variety of the Starburst tree 
 The original house Dr. Fairchild built in early 1900’s stands today.  Additions with a S. E. Asia flavor were added by Dr. Kay Sweeney; she purchased the property from the Fairchild estate and is responsible for donating the site to the National Tropical Botanic Garden.


 The property fronts Biscayne Bay, not much unspoiled waterfront land like this is left in metropolitan Miami 



4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is this near the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden (or is it the same place)? It's been years, many years, since I've been there.

Rusty in Miami said...

This garden is near Fairchild Tropical Garden, but is closer to the Coconut Grove area. The Kampong is not associated with Fairchild Tropical Garden, they are two different gardens.

Stellamarina said...

Very interesting thank you to see the Florida garden of the National Tropical Gardens. The ones here in Hawaii are worth a visit for all gardeners too.

Anonymous said...

@Rusty in Miami Different places, but named after the same guy. The Kampong was David Fairchild's home where he retired, Fairchild Tropical Gardens was named after Fairchild by a friend of his that founded it. And don't forget David Fairchild Elementary in South Miami, where I went to school! :)