Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
Corporate brand
UnclaimedFairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is an 83-acre botanical garden, museum, education center, and tropical-plant conservation institution in Coral Gables, Florida.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is a botanical garden and scientific institution in Coral Gables, Florida, immediately south of Miami. The 83-acre garden is known for its collections of palms, cycads, orchids, bromeliads, tropical flowering trees, bamboo, tropical fruit, and other rare plants. It functions not simply as a visitor attraction, but as a combined museum, research facility, conservation organization, and learning center focused on tropical biodiversity. The institution was established in 1936 by Robert H. Montgomery, an accountant, attorney, businessman, and serious plant collector who sought to create a major tropical botanical garden in the Miami area. Montgomery acquired an 83-acre site along Biscayne Bay and later transferred much of the property to Miami-Dade County. He named the garden for his friend David Fairchild, the influential American plant explorer and former United States Department of Agriculture official. David Fairchild helped introduce thousands of economically and horticulturally important plants to the United States, and he retired to Miami in 1935. Several plants associated with his collecting work remain part of the garden's landscape, including a notable African baobab. Landscape architect William Lyman Phillips designed the garden beginning in 1938. His plan emphasized variety, contrast, consistency, and carefully controlled openness. Visitors encounter the collections through a sequence of distinct spaces rather than from a single panoramic viewpoint. Lakes, terraces, shaded paths, glades, planted masses, pergolas, overlooks, and formal garden areas create a designed progression through the tropical landscape. Early features included the Montgomery Palmetum, Bailey Palm Glade, Allee and Overlook, Vine Pergola, Amphitheatre, Gate House, Montgomery Library and Museum, irrigation works, and the Nell Montgomery Garden House auditorium. Later additions included research, education, visitor, and conservation buildings. Fairchild's living collections are central to its identity. The Montgomery Palmetum is an extensively documented palm collection, while other holdings emphasize cycads, orchids, bromeliads, gingers, tropical bamboo, tropical fruit, and flowering trees. The garden has been described as holding the world's largest tropical bamboo collection, with approximately 125 species, and its tropical flowering-tree collection includes more than 740 species. The two-acre rainforest recreates tropical conditions through waterfalls, cascades, dense plantings, mist, and plants collected from the Amazon and other tropical regions. The garden also presents an indoor butterfly environment, Wings of the Tropics, where visitors can observe free-flying butterflies from Central and South America and Southeast Asia. Conservation and research concentrate on preventing tropical plant extinctions and protecting habitats. Fairchild's priority regions include South Florida, the Caribbean, oceanic islands, tropical Africa, and Madagascar; priority plant groups include palms, cycads, tropical fruit, and tropical trees. Activities include field exploration, conservation assessments, species recovery, propagation, and support for conservation in natural habitats. The institution works with universities and colleges including Florida International University, the University of Miami, Miami Dade College, and the University of Florida, and provides training opportunities for graduate and postdoctoral researchers. Public education is another major activity. Programs serve children, families, school groups, teachers, adult learners, gardeners, artists, photographers, and culinary students. The Fairchild Challenge extends the institution's educational reach into Miami-Dade County schools through school gardens, teacher training, consultations, grants, and hands-on science and horticulture. Fairchild also operates exhibitions, seasonal festivals, concerts, plant-society activities, and private-event services. Its art program, established in 2003, has presented work by internationally recognized artists in dialogue with the garden's landscape. In the twenty-first century, Fairchild has expanded its role as a regional conservation and science hub. It became the home of the American Orchid Society in 2012, partnered with the City of Coral Gables on the Million Orchid project in 2014, and began working with NASA's Kennedy Space Center on the Growing Beyond Earth Challenge in 2015. The organization remains an active Miami-area cultural, horticultural, educational, and scientific institution, combining public gardens with tropical plant research and biodiversity conservation.
History
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden was created during the development of Miami as a major subtropical and tropical city. Robert H. Montgomery, a Miami businessman, attorney, accountant, and plant collector, wanted the region to have a botanical institution capable of displaying and studying tropical plants. In 1936 he established the garden on an 83-acre property along Biscayne Bay and arranged for much of the land to be associated with Miami-Dade County. Montgomery named the institution after David Fairchild, his friend and a prominent plant explorer who had recently retired to Miami. David Fairchild had led important plant-introduction work for the United States Department of Agriculture. His expeditions brought tens of thousands of plants and seeds to the United States, including crops, ornamental plants, fruit trees, bamboos, and flowering trees. His connection to the new garden gave the institution a strong scientific and exploratory identity from its beginning. Plants connected with his collecting and introduction work became part of the garden's living heritage, including a large African baobab. Landscape architect William Lyman Phillips began designing the garden in 1938. Phillips, who had studied landscape architecture at Harvard and worked on South Florida parks, organized the site around a principle of discovery. Rather than exposing the entire garden at once, the design uses planted masses, changing views, narrow and shaded paths, open spaces, water, terraces, and carefully framed vistas to lead visitors through a series of different experiences. This approach was particularly suited to South Florida's climate, where shade, circulation, drainage, and irrigation are essential to a functioning garden. Fairchild opened to the public in 1938. During its first fifteen years, the institution developed many of the features that still define its historic landscape, including the Montgomery Palmetum, Bailey Palm Glade, Allee and Overlook, Vine Pergola, Amphitheatre, Gate House, Montgomery Library and Museum, lakes, stone terraces, irrigation systems, the Moos Sunken Garden, and the Nell Montgomery Garden House auditorium. Subsequent construction broadened the site's scientific and educational capacity. The Davis House was added in 1953, followed by Hawkes Laboratory in 1960, the Robbins Plant Science Building in 1967, the Rare Plant House in 1968, the Corbin Education Building in 1972, and the Jean duPont Shehan Visitor Center in 2002. The garden's collections expanded beyond palms to encompass cycads, orchids, bromeliads, gingers, bamboo, tropical fruit, flowering trees, vines, and plants from the Caribbean, Amazon basin, Southeast Asia, Africa, Madagascar, and other tropical regions. The Montgomery Palmetum became a major documented palm collection. Fairchild also developed an important bamboo collection, a Bahamian flora collection, a tropical flowering-tree collection, and a rainforest landscape. The latter uses waterfalls, cascades, dense vegetation, and misting systems to evoke rainforest conditions. Scientific conservation increasingly became a defining part of the institution's work. Fairchild scientists and partners conduct field exploration, assess threatened plant species, support recovery programs, and assist with conservation both in collections and in natural habitats. The organization prioritizes South Florida, the Caribbean, oceanic islands, tropical Africa, and Madagascar, along with plant groups such as palms, cycads, tropical fruit, and tropical trees. Its academic partnerships with Florida International University, the University of Miami, Miami Dade College, and the University of Florida support student training and research in systematics, ecology, evolutionary biology, genetics, and related disciplines. Education and public interpretation have developed alongside research. Programs serve kindergarten through grade twelve, families, home-school students, teachers, adult learners, gardeners, artists, photographers, and culinary students. The Fairchild Challenge became a significant school-garden and environmental-learning program, reaching schools across Miami-Dade County through garden support, teacher workshops, grants, consultations, and student activities. The garden also created Wings of the Tropics, a USDA-approved butterfly conservatory in the Clinton Family Conservatory, where visitors encounter free-flying tropical butterflies in a controlled environment. Fairchild broadened its cultural program in 2003 by beginning a continuing series of art exhibitions. The garden has presented installations and works by artists including Dale Chihuly, Yayoi Kusama, Fernando Botero, Roy Lichtenstein, Patricia Van Dalen, Mark Dion, Michele Oka Doner, and the Lalanne artists. Seasonal festivals, concerts, plant-society meetings, and food- and horticulture-focused events further integrate the garden into Miami's cultural life. A major modern expansion began with a 2010 groundbreaking for the Paul and Swanee DiMare Science Village, the Dr. Jane Hsaio Tropical Research Laboratories, the Clinton Family Conservatory, and the Burns Building. The complex opened in December 2012 and increased capacity for research, education, conservation, and visitor programming. In the same year, Fairchild became the home of the American Orchid Society, reinforcing its position as a national center for orchid knowledge. In 2014, Fairchild and the City of Coral Gables launched the Million Orchid project to restore native orchids that had declined as Miami-Dade was urbanized. Three native species were reintroduced to Coral Gables: the Florida butterfly orchid, cowhorn orchid, and cockleshell orchid. In 2015, Fairchild partnered with NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Growing Beyond Earth, a student-centered research initiative testing edible plants in equipment and conditions designed to approximate those aboard the International Space Station. Today, Fairchild remains an active public garden and nonprofit-style scientific and cultural institution. Its identity rests on the combination of living collections, landscape heritage, tropical research, species conservation, education, art, festivals, membership, volunteers, and partnerships. The garden's stated public role is preserving biodiversity while giving visitors direct access to tropical plants, ecosystems, science, and design.
- 2015
Growing Beyond Earth partnership begins
[1]Fairchild and NASA's Kennedy Space Center began testing edible plants for possible future space missions.
- 2014
Million Orchid project launched
[1]Fairchild and Coral Gables began a native-orchid restoration initiative in the urban Miami area.
- 2012
Science Village opens
[1]The new science complex opened in December, expanding Fairchild's research, education, conservation, and visitor infrastructure.
- 2012
American Orchid Society moves to Fairchild
[1]Fairchild became the home of the American Orchid Society.
- 2010
Science Village groundbreaking
[1]Fairchild broke ground on a major complex including research laboratories, a conservatory, and other science and education facilities.
- 2003
Art exhibition program begins
[1]Fairchild began presenting recurring art exhibitions that connect contemporary art with its landscape and collections.
- 2002
Jean duPont Shehan Visitor Center opens
[1]The visitor center became a major public-facing facility for orientation and interpretation.
- 1972
Corbin Education Building added
[1]The Corbin Education Building expanded the garden's teaching and outreach capacity.
- 1968
Rare Plant House added
[1]The Rare Plant House provided a dedicated setting for specialized plant holdings.
- 1967
Robbins Plant Science Building added
[1]The Robbins Plant Science Building strengthened facilities for botanical study.
Products and positioning
A South Florida botanical institution combining an immersive tropical garden with plant science, biodiversity conservation, education, cultural programming, and community engagement.
Living plant collections
Botanical garden collections
Fairchild maintains extensive living collections of rare and unusual tropical plants. Major holdings include palms, cycads, orchids, bromeliads, gingers, bamboo, tropical fruit, vines, and flowering trees. The collections serve public display, horticultural education, scientific study, and conservation. Notable areas include the Montgomery Palmetum, the Bahamian flora collection, the tropical flowering-tree collection, and the rainforest landscape.
Butterfly conservatory
Wings of the Tropics
Wings of the Tropics is a 25,000-square-foot enclosed butterfly environment in the Clinton Family Conservatory. It presents free-flying butterflies primarily from Central America, South America, and Southeast Asia, including longwings, Morpho butterflies, and owl butterflies. Feeding stations, tropical plantings, controlled access, and multiple doors help support the exhibit while limiting escapes.
Immersive garden exhibit
Rainforest
Fairchild's two-acre rainforest recreates features of a tropical forest through dense plantings, waterfalls, cascades, and a misting system. The exhibit includes plants collected from the Amazon and is designed to give visitors an accessible experience of tropical ecology while demonstrating the environmental conditions in which many of the garden's plants naturally grow.
Education program
Fairchild Challenge
The Fairchild Challenge is a school-centered environmental and horticultural education program serving Miami-Dade County. It supports student projects, school gardens, teacher workshops, garden consultations, and grants. Through practical growing activities and scientific investigation, participating students learn about plants, ecology, landscape, food, and environmental stewardship.
Science and education program · 2015
Growing Beyond Earth Challenge
Growing Beyond Earth is a collaboration with NASA's Kennedy Space Center that involves testing edible plants under conditions modeled on those aboard the International Space Station. The program uses controlled lighting, irrigation, and growing equipment and connects botanical research with student participation and the long-term challenge of producing food in space.
Conservation program · 2014
Million Orchid project
The Million Orchid project is an urban orchid-restoration initiative developed with the City of Coral Gables. It seeks to restore native orchids to the Miami-Dade landscape after habitat loss and urban development reduced their presence. Early work included the reintroduction of the Florida butterfly orchid, cowhorn orchid, and cockleshell orchid.
Marketing campaigns
- 2015Growing Beyond Earth Challenge
United States · NASA education and research network
Fairchild partnered with NASA's Kennedy Space Center to investigate edible plants that could be grown during future space missions. The program combines controlled horticulture, student participation, and space-related plant science.
Outcome. Participants tested plant growth using LED lighting, irrigation, and equipment intended to emulate conditions aboard the International Space Station.
- 2014Million Orchid project
Coral Gables · Miami-Dade County · South Florida
Fairchild and the City of Coral Gables partnered to restore native orchids in the urban environment and reintroduce species that had declined following extensive development in Miami-Dade County.
Outcome. Three native orchid species were reintroduced to Coral Gables: the Florida butterfly orchid, cowhorn orchid, and cockleshell orchid.
Brand decisions
2015
Apply tropical horticulture to space researchStrategyBackground
Future long-duration space missions require reliable methods for growing edible plants in constrained, artificial environments.
Action taken
Fairchild partnered with NASA's Kennedy Space Center through the Growing Beyond Earth Challenge to test edible plants under simulated spaceflight conditions.
Aftermath
The partnership extended Fairchild's educational and scientific mission beyond terrestrial tropical conservation.
2014
Restore native orchids in the urban landscapeStrategyBackground
Native orchids had been reduced in Miami-Dade County by historic urban development and habitat change.
Action taken
Fairchild partnered with Coral Gables on the Million Orchid project and began reintroducing native orchid species.
Aftermath
The project placed orchid conservation directly into the public and urban landscape of Coral Gables.
2012
Become home of the American Orchid SocietyStrategyBackground
Fairchild's established orchid collections and scientific programs provided a suitable base for a national orchid-focused organization.
Action taken
The American Orchid Society established its home at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
Aftermath
The arrangement reinforced Fairchild's position in orchid education, horticulture, and conservation.
2010
Expand science and conservation infrastructureStrategyBackground
Fairchild sought to strengthen its role as a research, conservation, and education institution in addition to operating as a public garden.
Action taken
The institution broke ground on the Paul and Swanee DiMare Science Village, the Dr. Jane Hsaio Tropical Research Laboratories, the Clinton Family Conservatory, and the Burns Building.
Aftermath
The complex opened in December 2012 and provided additional space for research, education, conservation, and visitor programs.
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