I love to go to beautiful places where I can sit in peace and snap some photos, and Fairchild Gardens is among my favorite places. I first went here about 9 years ago with a good friend who had a guest pass (which is good because I was broke and it’s a bit spendy). I have been so many times that now I can’t recall if there was a Chihuly exhibit going on at the time or not. Over the years I returned several times (twice for a Chihuly exhibit) and last year I bought a season pass finally.
This place is an oasis of incredible sights- from waterfalls to delicate orchids, the landscape is a feast for the senses. It’s hard to describe the experience of wandering through the acres of lush gardens, but hopefully the photos below will help paint a picture of how peaceful and lovely it is.
First I’ll talk about Dale Chihuly-
He was there several times with HUGE pieces of his glass work (he is famous for his ceiling at the Bellagio in Las Vegas) that were simply breathtaking. Cleverly interspersed through the flowers and plants of the gardens, the colors and textures blended beautifully among them, complimenting them perfectly. After the main shows were done, he left several pieces behind to decorate the gardens and they are permanently installed throughout. One notable multicolored glass piece is just outside of the butterfly area and was one of my favorite pieces during the show- I was so happy to see it still on display to be enjoyed!
Another cool part of Fairchild is that there are critters all over- little lizards, egrets, herons, ibis- you never know what you’ll see- I even saw a cayman once! Color me surprised! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectacled_caiman
Of course you can’t even talk about Fairchild without seeing a representative example of the plant life. It’s impossible to scratch the surface of how many incredible varieties of plants there are. HUGE tropicals, bizarre looking plants from other continents, fruit trees, many varieties of plam, orchids of all types and much more. Here are some that I took photos of on my last visit:
So in summary, Fairchild Gardens ranks up there as one of my very favorite places to go in South Florida. If you are lucky enough to go on a weekday, do so- it’s very quiet and peaceful. Weekends tend to be bustling about (although you’re more likely to catch things like free small concerts- I once happened upon a woodwind quartet that was delightful!) and a bit noisier. I could wander here for days and days, I think.
Keys Camper 