Garden Photo of the Day

GPOD on the Road: Miami Beach Botanical Gardens

Subtropical abundance

garden path leading to water feature

Today Joseph is taking us along on a visit to Miami Beach Botanical Gardens. Sited in southeastern Florida, it is in USDA Zone 11a, which means temperatures usually never dip below freezing, allowing a huge range of tropical plants to thrive.

garden path leading to water featureThis path leads toward a fountain in the water feature.

cluster of trailing white flowersThe delicate sprays of white flowers of nodding clerodendron (Clerodendron wallichii, Zones 8–11)

various palm plantsOne of the fun things for Northerners visiting tropical gardens is seeing plants we think of as houseplants grown to their actual mature size. This is a ponytail palm (Beaucarnea recurvata), which has thrived in many a windowsill in the North but has never reached these proportions.

giant monstera growing outsideMonstera deliciosa is another popular houseplant that is currently a bit of a fad on Instagram among houseplant lovers. It naturally clings to and climbs up the trunks of trees, and so can reach enormous proportions.

Monstera fruitThe second part of the name Monstera deliciosa refers to these—the fruits that mature plants produce—which are, apparently, delicious.

fern growing on a treeThese staghorn ferns (Platycerium bifurcatum) are growing as they would in nature—clinging to the trunks of trees.

pink orchid growing around a treePhalaenopsis, like many of the popular tropical orchids grown as houseplants, are epiphytes in nature, clinging to trunks and branches of trees with their thick roots.

banana plant flowerThe big red bracts of this banana (Musa species) peel back one by one to reveal rows of flowers.

large banana plant with fruitAs the flowering stem grows, the older blooms develop into the familiar banana fruits.

banyan treeThe banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis) sends down roots from its branches as it grows.

mature banyan treeOnce the roots touch the ground, they thicken and develop into secondary trunks, allowing the tree to grow and spread through a huge area.

If you’ve had the chance to visit a beautiful garden somewhere, please send us photos for our GPOD on the Road series! It is fun to see so many wonderful public gardens around the world.

 

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Comments

  1. PattyLouise 03/04/2022

    Very unique & interesting garden! Enjoyed the tour!

  2. User avater
    vanhatalosuomi 03/04/2022

    Fantastic!
    We were due to visit this botanical marvel in spring 2020 - but alas, covid-19 descended upon the globe, our trip and so many others were canceled. Lives were lost, plans and ideas changed forever. And the rest is history...

  3. User avater
    simplesue 03/04/2022

    Wow! What an amazing tropical garden! I can almost feel the heat and the scent of fresh air and soil looking at your photos!

  4. btucker9675 03/04/2022

    That nodding clerodendron is especially lovely!

  5. maryannborcherding 03/04/2022

    The pictures are wonderful, especially enjoyed the banana tree.

  6. erla 03/04/2022

    Would love to know the names of some of the understory plants. Pictures 4, 7, 12, if it is possible. Thanks.

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