Around the world in a botanical garden

IF exploration and new discoveries thrill you then the story of

the Fairchild Botanical Garden will certainly interest you.

David Fairchild (1869-1954) was one of the world's great

explorers. At a very young age, he created the Section of

Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction of the United States

Department of Agriculture. This job entailed travelling around

the world in search of plants that could be of use to the

American people. These travels resulted in the cultivation in the

US of many important plants like mangoes, dates, and bamboo.

Expedition

Dr. Fairchild retired to Miami in 1935. His friend Col. Robert

Montgomery founded the botanical garden and named it in his

honor. Dr Fairchild himself had planted many of the plants still

growing in the Garden, which include the baobab tree near the

Gate House Museum. With his wife Marion and children, he

embarked on the Garden's first official collecting expedition,

sailing from the Philippines to Indonesia on a specially built

sampan called the Cheng Ho. In the Museum are photographs

of their trip to the Philippines where they had a house in Baguio

overlooking the Mines View Park. There are also photographs

of the Rice Terraces and the indigenous tribes there.

Collecting the plant specimens was not easy. The Fairchilds

explored jungles and unfamiliar places to obtain the specimens.

Touring the Garden, I found many trees and plants that had

come from the Philippines. I saw familiar sights such as the

achuete and the teakwood. There was a Philippine species of

eucalyptus with a most colorful bark formation. Many plants in

the Conservatory and the Rain Forest section of this 83-acre

botanical garden would be familiar to us, especially those fond

of palm trees.

The Garden was forced to end its expedition at the outbreak of

World War II. There is a book written about the journey.

The Garden's first 15 years saw the construction of its primary

buildings and landscape features, including Montgomery

Palmetum, Allee and Overlook, Vine Pergola, Amphitheater, Gate

House, Montgomery Library and Museum, 14 lakes, stone

terracing walls, and irrigation. Later buildings included the

laboratory, the Rare Plant House, and the Education Building. A

comprehensive master plan developed in 1993 provides a

framework for continued growth and development. The Rare

Plant House, now called the Conservatory, was totally

renovated in 1995, as was the Gate House, a locally designated

historic landmark, now a museum of plant exploration.

Robert Montgomery himself was an accountant, attorney and

successful businessman with a passion for plant collecting.

With the guidance of Dr. Fairchild, he pursued the dream of

creating a botanical garden in Miami, the one place in the

continental US where tropical plants could grow outdoors

year-round. Opened to the public in 1938, the Garden was

established on this huge site south of Miami purchased by

Colonel Montgomery. It was designed by renowned landscape

architect William Lyman Phillips, the leading designer of South

Florida parks during the 1930s.

Collection

Assembling and maintaining an outstanding botanical

collection has been a fundamental part of the institution's

existence since 1938. Indeed, even before the Garden was

created, Montgomery and Fairchild dedicated themselves to

collecting, documenting and studying tropical and subtropical

plants from around the world, especially the palms and cycads

which are still the most significant Fairchild collections. In 1984,

the Garden became a member of the Center for Plant

Conservation, a consortium of botanical gardens involved in

preserving endangered US flora. Since hurricane Andrew in

1992, Fairchild's plant-collecting efforts have intensified

dramatically, as scientists seek not only to restore the Garden's

collections, but also to identify and save endangered plants

from the tropics.

In recent years, Fairchild botanical and environmental research

programs have been funded by grants from the MacArthur

Foundation, National Science Foundation, and many others.

Since 1938, the Garden has distributed plants and seeds to

scientists and the local community. Fairchild palms, cycads,

ornamentals and fruit trees have been a source of new varieties

for commercial growers and home gardeners.

Garden education programs have also grown steadily in recent

years. In early years, postgraduate research formed the largest

educational component, but for the past two decades, additional

programs have been offered to children and non-experts in plant

science. Today, Fairchild is the region's leading source of

environmental, horticultural and botanical education, with more

than 150 courses offered annually, along with a wide range of

community outreach programs.

In June this year, Fairchild will have a mango festival

reintroducing four species of Fairchild mangoes to the public.

One of the most awaited attractions will be the inflorescence of

the Amorphophallus giga, a gigantic aroid only found in

Sumatra and other parts of Indonesia. Careful documentation of

this event has made its way into science annals. Its height is

towering and it is distinguished by its odor, which lasts only for

a few hours. Attractions like this have been planned throughout

the year. Ms Pat Kelley will be more than glad to help those

interested.