Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (Florida Boating, Post 31)

Friday, February 19

The Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami is huge and amazing. We weren’t even out of the parking lot before we saw our first wildlife. It’s hard to tell in the photo, but this guy was BLUE. These lizards were also very fast. John took this particular photo – I don’t know how he did it!

Now THAT is an entrance to a tropical garden.

I told John I wanted him to build me one of these in Tucson.

Lol, Tucson will never look like this.

I was wearing a big, floppy hat, sunglasses and a mask, so I took it all off for the photo – otherwise you couldn’t see my face AT ALL. I look sunburned but I don’t know how that was possible with my entire face covered. Maybe from back when we were on the boat? I was probably just hot.

John looks like an alien. Oh, wait, did I say that out loud?

I left all my headgear on for this one. It was about the flowers, not me, anyway!

This next one is a ponytail palm. I have this tree in a pot in my house. Mine is only one foot tall!

This next one’s for Laura:

And this one too. Rainbow Eucalyptus!!! 😉

But not this one. This is one is something different. I think. Confusing, I know. I was confused there myself for a moment. I should have finished up the two close-ups with a full shot of the eucalyptus, but instead, the next picture I took was a full shot of a completely different tree? Apparently.

This next one is a sausage tree from Africa. It has big, heavy fruit hanging from the end of long, root-like appendages.

As you can see, there weren’t very many people there. I don’t know why – it was a pleasant Friday afternoon.

We have one of these cycads at home in a pot. Ours is yellow. Or a “beautiful golden hue” as John and I were joking, while admiring the rich green healthy ones in Florida. Ours froze in Albuquerque last fall, shortly before we could get it to Tucson. We are hoping ours isn’t completely dead – we think it will come back this spring.

This, believe it or not, is cactus hanging from a tree. It’s growing on the branches up there.

Did you notice the mist? This whole section was filled with mist being sprayed by misters attached to the trees. As if it wasn’t already humid enough!

And last but not least…Chihuly!

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