Fairchild Tropical Garden 
* * * 
The Fairchild Tropical Garden, located 
in southeastern Florida, the only area of 
the United States mainland where the co¬ 
conut palm flourishes and where truly trop¬ 
ical trees, vines and palms can with safety 
be grown out of doors, is not just another 
botanical garden. Here Florida shows to 
everyone the glorious vegetation of the 
forests and palm-covered plains of the 
tropics of the world. 
The Garden occupies 83 acres of Dade 
County, south of Miami, adjoining Math- 
eson Hammock Park. It includes high pine- 
land and coastal prairie reaching to Bis¬ 
cay ne Bay. Since the date of dedication, 
March 23, 1938, enough has been accom¬ 
plished to prove its great future impor¬ 
tance. The work of planting has gone 
steadily on, notably of nearly 300 different 
species of palms, as far as possible in their 
natural groupings, and an already distin¬ 
guished collection of vines. 
The Fairchild Garden Expedition to the 
Dutch East Indies was made in search of 
seeds adapted to planting here. Several 
hundreds of species entirely new to Amer¬ 
ica were brought back. The Garden has 
begun the distribution to its members of 
plants so introduced from the treasure 
house of the tropics. 
It has on its Board of Directors some of 
the outstanding botanists and horticulturists 
of America and it is in close touch with 
noted tropical botanical gardens of both 
hemispheres. 
For the benefit of the public, plant labels 
that will give information of wide popular 
interest, such as details of native habitats 
and uses and stories of discovery, as aid 
in memorizing names and building up inter¬ 
est in plants, are being installed. Some of 
these names are completely unknown to 
northern plant lovers and are not included 
even in standard encyclopedias of horti¬ 
culture, so unique and so rare is this col¬ 
lection. 
The Garden will provide a laboratory 
for the use of students of tropic beauty. 
The resources of the fine new Montgomery 
Library and Palm Products Museum are 
available to all members and, under cer¬ 
tain restrictions, to the public. Lectures of 
wide interest by distinguished horticul¬ 
turists and scientists, are given from time to 
time in the Library building. 
Inquiries from all sorts of individuals and 
organizations, Garden Clubs, city park ad¬ 
ministrators, city planning groups, land¬ 
scape gardeners, foresters, plant breeders 
A 25-year old specimen of Acoelorraphe tf rightii 
(Cuban Saw-palmetto, “Guano prieto”), found 
wild in the three southernmost counties of Florida 
Fairchild Tropical Garden Exhibit at Gardens on 
Parade—New York World's Fair. 
and nurserymen are pouring into the Gar¬ 
den office. The stimulation of such interest 
and co-operation with all similar activities 
is an important part of the service which 
the Garden hopes to render to the entire 
country. The Garden works in close co-op¬ 
eration with the Dade County Park system. 
In 1940 the Garden received the award 
of the Founders Fund of the Garden Club 
of America, a signal honor and much 
sought for recognition. The new amphi¬ 
theatre surrounded by lakes, fittingly bears 
the name "Garden Club of America Am¬ 
phitheatre." 
