Fairchild Gardens

Leon and I have a membership to Fairchild Gardens, a really fine botanical garden in Coral Gables. We first visited because of Leon's interest in cycads. I'll avoid comment on the degree to which his collection takes over the house when he moves it inside for the winter. Fairchild has a huge and diverse collection, and has provided a fair bit of support for research and conservation of the group over the years. For that alone, we decided to support them and become members.

Aside: Yes, I know the photo is a bromeliad and not a cycad. It's my blog, I'll post the picture that I find prettiest as the header.


We were greeted upon our arrival by a flock of white ibis. They're one of the birds that I always enjoy seeing in Florida because they look so tropical to me. As we strolled the grounds, we began encountering a series of huge sculptures by artist Mark di Suervo. They are mammoth installations constructed from I-beams and steel plates. The scale is well matched with the large scale of the gardens, and the rigid, angular forms in vivid primary colors provide an interesting counterpoint to the natural spaces that they are embedded in.





My favorite piece of his was Neruda's gate, named for one of my favorite poets.

Neruda's Gate

I recided a couple of verses from Vienen los Pajaros as I walked through. Then I realized that I had a recording of Canto General on my iPhone and played part of Vegetaciones. I'm not sure that Neruda would have approved of the latter, involving as it does an item that currently embelmizes captialism.

Bottle Palm (Hyophorbe lagenicaulis)

The gardens are, of course, the main event at Fairchild. We strolled to the Florida Keys plantings, and wandered through the planttings that the di Suervo sculputres were set in. I got a lot of response to my posting about the strangler fig the other day, so I took advantage of an opportunity to get a shot of a mature specimen.

Strangler Fig

There was only one plant that required a sign requesting that visitors not pick the fruit. Totally understandable, I was tempted. Can you tell what it is?

The Mystery Fruit

My other great enjoyment from my morning at Fairchild was getting to see, and photograph, some insects. There wasn't a lot out, but I did get a couple of dragonfly shots.

Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis)


Unidentified Dragonfly
My references are back in Chicago. I'll get an ID when I get home,
unless one of my readers calls it for me before then.


Monk Skipper (Asbolis capucinus)

This was totally a taste of summer. I highly recommend Fairchild Gardens both as a place to visit, and an institution to support (the latter only if you are already supporting the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, of course).