The Kampong
Encyclopedia
The Kampong is an 11-acre (45,000 m²) tropical garden in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida
United States
. It is one of the five gardens of the non-profit National Tropical Botanical Garden
(NTBG), and is open to visitors. An admission fee is charged.
and his wife Marian in 1916. For many years he managed the Department of Plant Introduction program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. whose purpose was to search the world for plants that could be useful and successfully introduced into the United States. In his life, Fairchild introduced around 30,000 different plant species and variations into the U.S. At his home in Florida, Fairchild created a garden that contained many of the plants that he obtained throughout his trips. In 1931 Marian's sister Elsie and her husband, Gilbert Grosvenor, acquired the adjoining property on the north to use as their winter home. Fairchild and his wife made the Kampong their permanent home from 1928 until their passing in 1954 and 1962 respectively.
A year after David Fairchild's wife's death, the land was purchased by Dr. Catherine Hauberg Sweeney, a botanist and preservationist. Dr. Sweeney maintained Fairchild’s garden and was vital in its preservation for future use and study, securing its listing on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1984 Sweeney donated the property to the then Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden (now National Tropical Botanical Garden
), and remained its principal sponsor until 1995. Director Larry Schokman curated and managed the garden until his retirement in 2008.
, 23 cultivar
s of avocado
, and 65 varieties of mango
, palms, flowering trees, ficus, aroids, and bamboo . This garden serves as the mainland campus for the NTBG. Major aspects of the Kampong include:
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is one of the five gardens of the non-profit National Tropical Botanical Garden
National Tropical Botanical Garden
The National Tropical Botanical Garden is a group that sponors preservation of plants native to the tropics in a network of botanical gardens and preserves.-History:...
(NTBG), and is open to visitors. An admission fee is charged.
History
The Kampong was bought as their winter home by the famed horticulturalist Dr. David FairchildDavid Fairchild
David Grandison Fairchild was an American botanist and plant explorer. Fairchild was responsible for the introduction of more than 200,000 exotic plants and varieties of established crops into the United States, including soybeans, pistachios, mangos, nectarines, dates, bamboos, and flowering...
and his wife Marian in 1916. For many years he managed the Department of Plant Introduction program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. whose purpose was to search the world for plants that could be useful and successfully introduced into the United States. In his life, Fairchild introduced around 30,000 different plant species and variations into the U.S. At his home in Florida, Fairchild created a garden that contained many of the plants that he obtained throughout his trips. In 1931 Marian's sister Elsie and her husband, Gilbert Grosvenor, acquired the adjoining property on the north to use as their winter home. Fairchild and his wife made the Kampong their permanent home from 1928 until their passing in 1954 and 1962 respectively.
A year after David Fairchild's wife's death, the land was purchased by Dr. Catherine Hauberg Sweeney, a botanist and preservationist. Dr. Sweeney maintained Fairchild’s garden and was vital in its preservation for future use and study, securing its listing on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1984 Sweeney donated the property to the then Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden (now National Tropical Botanical Garden
National Tropical Botanical Garden
The National Tropical Botanical Garden is a group that sponors preservation of plants native to the tropics in a network of botanical gardens and preserves.-History:...
), and remained its principal sponsor until 1995. Director Larry Schokman curated and managed the garden until his retirement in 2008.
Facilities
Today the Kampong's living collections include tropical fruits including pomeloPomelo
The pomelo is a citrus fruit native to Southeast Asia. It is usually pale green to yellow when ripe, with sweet white flesh and very thick albedo . It is the largest citrus fruit, 15–25 cm in diameter, and usually weighing 1–2 kg...
, 23 cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s of avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
, and 65 varieties of mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
, palms, flowering trees, ficus, aroids, and bamboo . This garden serves as the mainland campus for the NTBG. Major aspects of the Kampong include:
- The Fairchild-Sweeney House - designed by architect Edward Clarence Dean, constructed in 1928, as a combination of Spanish and Southeast Asian influences. A later renovation to the home incorporated more modern features and added a second floor over a portion of the home, resulting in an unusual blend of styles. Visitors included Thomas EdisonThomas EdisonThomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
and Henry FordHenry FordHenry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
.
- Schokman Education Center - designed by architect Max StrangMax StrangMax Strang is an architect based in Coconut Grove , Florida. He was raised in a Mid-Century Modern home designed by Gene Leedy of the Sarasota School of Architecture....
, completed in 2007, as an outdoor pavilion incorporating oolitic limestone and exposed concrete. The roof of the new pavilion functions as a rainwater collection system and is connected to two 10,000 gallon underground tanks.
- Mangrove preserve - one of the largest areas of salt-water mangroveMangroveMangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
forest in the area, containing all four mangroves native to the area, as well as Bruguieria gymnorhiza from the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
See also
- Fairchild Tropical Botanic GardenFairchild Tropical Botanic GardenFairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is a botanic garden, with extensive collections of rare tropical plants including palms, cycads, flowering trees and vines. It is located in metropolitan Miami, just south of Coral Gables, Florida, United States, surrounded at the south and west by Matheson...
- National Tropical Botanical GardenNational Tropical Botanical GardenThe National Tropical Botanical Garden is a group that sponors preservation of plants native to the tropics in a network of botanical gardens and preserves.-History:...
- McBryde GardenMcBryde Gardenis a botanical garden located on the south shore of Kauai, Hawaii. It is one of five gardens of the non-profit National Tropical Botanical Garden .The garden is situated above Lāwai Bay, in a valley transected by the Lāwai Stream...
- Allerton GardenAllerton GardenAllerton Garden , also known as Lāwai-kai, is a botanical garden, originally created by Robert Allerton and John Gregg Allerton, located on the south shore of Kauai, Hawaii. The garden covers an area and is situated beside the Lāwai Bay, in a valley transected by the Lāwai Stream...
- Limahuli Garden and PreserveLimahuli Garden and PreserveThe Limahuli Garden and Preserve is a botanical garden and nature preserve on the north shore of Kauai island, Hawaii. It is one of the five gardens of the non-profit National Tropical Botanical Garden.-Description:...
- Kahanu GardenKahanu GardenKahanu Garden is a botanical garden located on the Hāna Highway near Hāna, Maui, Hawaii. It is one of five gardens of the non-profit National Tropical Botanical Garden, the others being McBryde, Allerton, and Limahuli Garden and Preserve on Kauai, and The Kampong in Florida.The garden was...
- List of botanical gardens in the United States