The document provides an itinerary for a tour of South Florida gardens taking place from October 12-16, 2011. The tour will include visits to Kampong Gardens, Montgomery Botanical Center, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Fruit & Spice Park, R.F. Orchids, Everglades National Park, Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, and Naples Botanical Garden. The itinerary provides details on locations, activities, and directors/managers for each stop on the tour.

1. Atlanta Botanical Garden presents The Best of South Florida Gardens Led by Mary Pat Matheson, Executive Director & Ron Determann, Director of Fuqua Conservatory and Orchid Center October 12 – 16, 2011

4. October 12 Welcome Reception and Dinner Grove Isle Hotel & Spa

10. October 13 Kampong/Montgomery/Fairchild

11. Kampong Gardens Kampong is the fifth garden in the network of National Tropical Botanical Gardens.

12. An exceptional collection of tropical plants, with an emphasis on southeast and island Asia, had been assembled by horticulturist David Fairchild at his south Florida home on Biscayne Bay, The Kampong. Mrs. Catherine Hauberg Sweeney, who had traveled extensively throughout Indo-Malaysia, had acquired the property and continued in Dr. Fairchild’s tradition, expanding the collections and placing it on the National Register of Historic Places . The Kampong was gifted to the NTBG in 1984.

22. Montgomery Botanical Center Montgomery Botanical Center is the living legacy of Robert and Nell Montgomery, widely known as the founders of Fairchild Tropical Garden (now Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden).

23. Montgomery Botanical Center (originally The Montgomery Foundation) was established by Nell Montgomery Jennings in memory of her husband, Colonel Robert H. Montgomery, and his love of palms and cycads.

25. A non-profit botanic garden established in 1959, Montgomery Botanical Center keeps living specimens from wild plant populations worldwide. Emphasizing palms and cycads, the population-based, documented, scientific collections are available for study in Montgomery’s 120-acre botanical garden of exemplary design. Today, Montgomery Botanical Center advances botanical research, conserves rare species, and educates the community through workshops, lectures, publications, and tours of its scientific plant collections.

35. Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden Behind the seemingly natural beauty of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden lies a carefully orchestrated blend of art and science. Documented botanical specimens provide valuable resources in science and education, while horticultural displays and the classic landscape design by William Lyman Phillips offer visitors an unforgettable aesthetic experience.

52. Marjory Stoneman Douglas (April 7, 1890 – May 14, 1998)

53. October 14 Fruit & Spice Park, R.F.Orchids, Everglades

54. Fruit & Spice Park Exotic fruits, herbs, spices, and nuts from around the world.

57. Park Manager Chris Rollins

59. R.F.Orchids Bob Fuchs is a third generation orchid grower and his highly respected operation, R. F. Orchids is one of the finest in the South. Here you will find thousands of exotic orchids growing in a hammock like setting accented with gazebos, ponds, tiki huts and lush landscaping.

72. Everglades National Park In 1947, through a combination of federal, state, and private lands, a vast wetland teeming with life were dedicated as a National Park. Everglades was the first National Park preserved primarily for its abundance and variety of life, rather than for scenic or historic values.

75. Flamingo Bay Back Country Boat Tour

78. October 15 Vizcaya Museum & Gardens & Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park

79. Vizcaya Museum & Gardens Built by agricultural industrialist James Deering in 1916, Vizcaya Museum & Gardens features a main house on Biscayne Bay, ten acres of formal gardens, a rockland hammock (native forest), and soon-to-be historic village. Tour led by Ian Simpkins – Chief Horticulturist

88. Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park encompasses much of Florida’s most spectacular swamp. More native orchid species grow in this 75,000 acre wilderness than in any other place on the continent.

89. Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk

103. Farewell Dinner Bayfront Inn on 5 th Avenue

108. October 16 Naples Botanical Garden

124. Contact Us 3540 NW 13th Street Gainesville, FL 32609 1.800.451.7111