Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens, Miami, Florida

I do not understand how anyone can live

without one small place of enchantment to turn to.

 Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Tropical Palms

Dr. David Fairchild and his wife Marian Bell Fairchild purchased the Biscayne Bay property in 1916.  The Fairchild's named their new home Kampong, a Malaysian word meaning village, or cluster of buildings for extended family dwelling.

Royal Poinciana

Growing up there was a large Royal Poinciana in our backyard.  It was a

large tree which held me many a day as I pretended to be Peter Pan or Tinker Bell.

Cannonball Tree Flower

* "Dr. David Fairchild, one of the most influential horticulturalists and plant collectors in the United States, devoted his life to plant exploration and searching for useful plants suitable for introduction into the U.S. As an early “Indiana Jones” type explorer, he conducted field trips in Asia, the South Pacific, Dutch East and West Indies, South America, Egypt, Ceylon, China, Japan, the Persian Gulf, and East and South Africa. These explorations resulted in the introduction of many tropical plants of economic importance to the United States."

Sago Palms

Coffe Plant

Torch Ginger Flower

Fairchild Tropical Garden's Poster

Mango, ancient Vedic texts called this fruit "food of the gods", and symbolizes the joy of life.  The wonderful tasting fruit is of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.  The creamy fruit is said to have special enzymes that aid in the digestive process.

Mango trees were in my childhood yard.  I would climb a tree, with knife and salt in hand, and eat them partially green.  I adore the luscious orange slices yummy taste most of all.

Red Silk Cotton Tree

Main Entry Kampong Residence

Statue and Greenery

Tropical gardening for me must be thick with green and punctuated with flowering trees and plants.  A feeling of being in the wild tropic jungle.  Okay, maybe not the wild jungle.

The Fairchilds

Marian Bell - the youngest daughter of Alexander Graham Bell.

Marian Bell Fairchild & The Cherry Blossoms

(second from the left)

Dr. David Fairchild

David and Marian Fairchild

(the Phillipines)

An ordinary man , sometimes called and early "Indian Jones",  spent his life gathering tropical plants from around the world.  He raised a family and left a significant mark in south Florida.  I have a feeling his life was normal and exotic.

I love the last photograph of their old age.  Golden years and the holding hands speak of commitment.  Another legacy for David and Marian Fairchild.

National Tropical Botanic Trust
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens

* http://www.fairchildgardens.org/