Join us at the southernmost tip of the continental United States for this garden.
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Transcript:
Hey there, Garden Lovers,
Today is January 13th, and this is a A Garden a Day with Mædunbroc Gardens.
We’ve been traipsing around the world a lot lately, so I thought it might be a good idea to spend some time in the good ole US of A for awhile.
For today and the next three days, we will explore four distinct American gardens that show the wide range of ecosystems and garden designs found here in the United States.
We are starting today at the southernmost point in the continental U.S. Yes, that’s right. We’re going to Key West, Florida, and the garden is the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden.
Like much of Florida, Key West has only two seasons — wet and dry. They don’t have winter, spring, summer, and fall like the rest of us. They have wet season and dry season.
But unlike some of Florida’s more northern zip codes, Key West has a true tropical climate making the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden the only frost-free botanical garden in the continental U.S. Key West also gets ample rain even in the dry season allowing for Key West’s trees to retain their leaves all year round.
The garden began in 1936 as a Works project funded by the federal government as part of its economic recovery efforts during the Great Depression.
The focus and goal of the garden is to preserve and protect plants native to Key West in their own natural habitat. Unlike other botanical gardens that create ecosystems, the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden maintains the delicate native eco-system already in place and works to conserve it and the flora and fauna that require that ecosystem for survival.
The garden is slightly larger than fifteen acres and is owned by the City of Key West, but the garden is governed by an all-volunteer Board of Directors.
Since 1988, the garden has been the “keeper of the trees” and is home to a number of Champion trees. These are trees that are measured to be the largest of their species. The American Forests Organization began the Champion program in 1940 to identify the largest specimen of each tree native to the United States. Today, non-native and naturalized trees can be considered, but no invasive trees are acknowledged in the program.
Through the years, the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden has been home to eight Champion trees. Hurricane Irma in 2017 destroyed the Pigeon Plum tree and damaged Wild Dilly and Black Olive trees. The Milkbark tree was downed, but is showing signs of life. Seedlings are growing from its roots.
The storm also damaged or destroyed other tropical trees, and the garden is working to plant new trees in their place. You can assist with the project by donating to the Tree Tribute Program. Information is available on the garden’s website. I’ve included a link in the notes.
In addition to the trees, the garden is working to conserve the native cactus barren ecosystem found only in the Florida Keys. The Keys Cactus Barren is classified as highly endangered, and only twelve cactus barrens have been identified in all of the Florida Keys. Seventy-three plant species have been identified as part of the barrens.
Growing on Key Largo limestone at an elevation of less than two meters, the cactus barren is especially susceptible to rising seas causing the cactus barrens to evolve into tidal barrens. The garden propagates some of the native plants of the cactus barren. Because some of the plants are rare, they are actively studying the plants and learning ways to propagate the plants in order to preserve them for the future.
The native plant nursery on site makes some of these plants available to the public for purchase including goatweed, Florida Keys indigo, erect prickly pear, blue porter weed, Yucatan fly mellow, and jumping cactus.
I’ve included the botanical names in the notes.
In all, the plant nursery offers 160 species of native plants for purchase. If you are wondering if you can grow these plants in your garden, you can if you live in USDA Zone 11.
Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden hosts events throughout the year. GardenFest 2025 will be held in March and will include a silent auction, 50/50 raffle, children’s science corner, arts and crafts, vendor booths, snacks and beverages. Admission is free.
The garden also hosts yoga in the garden, story time for children, a volunteer program for tending the garden, and art workshops.
For those interested in learning opportunities, the garden hosts an annual Speakers Series on the third Saturday of each month between December and May with a different guest speaker each month.
For students, the garden offers the Living Laboratory with options for both virtual and in-person learning. They’ve created interactive lesson plans to involve students in learning about ecology, climate change, conservation, and other important STEM topics.
Four hundred fifty species of plants, thirty-five species of butterflies, and 160 species of birds call the garden their home.
The garden is open most days of the year but is closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
Guided tours are available by request.
Thanks for listening today.
Join me here tomorrow to find out where we are going next.
If you like A Garden a Day, please considering liking, following, or subscribing to the podcast. It lets you know when a new episode is available, and it lets me know you like the show. Also, if you are able, please consider giving the show a five star review. It helps others find the show. It really does help. Thank you so much.
You can also visit agardenaday.com where you can find notes for each episode and leave comments or questions for me.
Well, if all goes well, I will be right back here tomorrow. See you then!
To learn more about Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden, visit these links:
https://www.keywest.garden/champion-trees/
https://www.keywesttravelguide.com/key-west-tropical-forest-botanical-garden/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_West_Tropical_Forest_&_Botanical_Garden
https://keywestattractions.org/company/key-west-tropical-forest-botanical-garden/
The native plants I mentioned in the episode with their botanical names along with more native plants grown at the garden:
goatweed (Capraria biflora)
Florida Keys indigo (lndigofera mucronata var. keyensis)
erect prickly pear (Opuntia stricta)
blue porterweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis)
Yucatan flymallow (Cienfuegosia yucatanensis)
jumping cactus (Opuntia triacanthos)
Blodgett’s wild mercury (Argythamnia blodgettii)
Florida flatsedge (Cyperus filiformis)
red purslane (Portulaca rubricaulis)
false sisal (Agave decipiens)
barbwire cactus (Acantocereus tetragonus)
seashore ageratum (Ageratum maritimum)
Poeppig’s rosemallow (Hibiscus poeppiggii)
Cape Sabel thoroughwort (Chromolaena frustrata)
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