Miami’s Kampong Still Home to Many Tropicals

Miami’s Kampong Still Home to Many Tropicals

I first heard about the historic garden called The Kampong in the new book Rescuing Eden: Preserving America’s Historic Gardens.

Thanks to the Florida Nursery Growers and Landscape Association, I recently had a chance to visit The Kampong, on Biscayne Bay in the Coconut Grove section of Miami. Though it was late in the day and the light was not the best, I still was amazed at the array of tropicals, many of them quite old.

Tropicals have long been an important part of the garden, even for those of us here in the Northeast.

Nineteenth century Boston horticulturalist and politician Marshall Wilder gave a speech on September 12, 1879 at the 50th anniversary of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. He said, “The introduction of [subtropical plants like palms, agaves, musas, dracaenas, caladiums and similar plants] and the multitude of ornamental-foliage plants, both hardy and tender, which now enrich our gardens, is the most characteristic feature of the present era in horticulture.”

The garden at The Kampong, which means “village” in Malay, was the inspiration of the plant explorer Dr. David Fairchild (1869-1954). The U.S. Department of Agriculture hired him to travel the world and find important plants, including many fruits. He began the garden in 1898, eventually collecting 30,000 plants for his garden.

From the beginning his unusual garden attracted visitors who wanted to see the tropical plants he had collected.

When Fairchild died, his wife Marian managed The Kampong until her death in 1962.

Edward and Catherine Sweeney, wealthy collectors, explorers and world travelers,  took over the garden to preserve the collection of tropical plants. They were able to have the garden listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Today, The Kampong has become a major center for the study of tropical plants. The garden is linked to the National Tropical Botanic Garden, which has four other sites in the country.

The sign outside the entrance reads “Admittance by Appointment.” When I asked, I was told the garden is both private and public. Thus the garden’s staff requires a visitor to seek permission to enter the garden.

Once you are inside, as you walk the pathway, you see the tropical wonders in the trees, shrubs, vines, flowers, and fruit that Dr. Fairchild loved and collected so long ago.

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