Fruit & Spice Park | |
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Type | Municipal |
Location | Redland, Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States |
Area | 37 acres (15 ha) |
Created | 1945[1] |
Operated by | Miami-Dade County Parks and Recreation Department |
Website | Fruit & Spice Park |
The Fruit & Spice Park, formally known as the Preston B. Bird/Mary Heinlein Fruit & Spice Park, is a 37-acre park located in Redland, Florida, and it is the only botanical garden of its kind in the United States. This park is operated by Miami-Dade County Parks and Open Spaces Department. The park attracts more than 50,000 visitors per year because of its unique agricultural environment. The garden features more than 500 different types of international exotic fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices. Visitors are allowed to sample fallen fruits, have lunch at the Mango Cafe, or schedule a tour of the park.
The Redland area, part of southern Miami-Dade County, has been known for its many farms, unique ability to grow fresh fruit, and its reddish soil. Mary Calkins Heinlein was the daughter of pioneer sub-tropical farmers, and she had a passion for fruits and gardens in South Florida. She had a goal to showcase the Redland and its rich agricultural environment. In 1935, she got in contact with county commissioners and parks directors to begin multiple transactions to purchase 18 acres in the Redland. [2] County commissioner Preston B. Bird finalized the deal in 1943 and received ownership for the land with Heinlein. South Dade County's Park Development Department signed a contract with William Lyman Philips to develop the vision that Heinlein had for the garden. [3] In 1944, construction began, and Heinlein was named superintendent. The garden featured many different fruits and agricultural developments that Heinlein had wanted. It alsoshowcased two historical structures: the original Redland Schoolhouse and a coral rock building. After the creation of the garden, named the Redland Fruit and Spice Park, Heinlein's 10-year term ended in 1959 when she retired as superintendent. She continued to stay an active garden club member and developed insights on the different fruits that should be planted until she died in 1979. In memory of her and Preston B. Bird, the county renamed the Redland Fruit and Spice Park to the Preston B. Bird/Mary Heinlein Fruit & Spice Park in 1980. [4]
The park contains more than 500 varieties of fruits, nuts, and spice trees. It also includes more than 80 banana trees, 160 varieties of mango trees, more than 40 varieties of grapevines, and 70 varieties of bamboo trees. It also features guava, jackfruit, canistel, sapodilla, longan, lychee, mamey and black sapote, miracle fruit, jaboticaba, and coffee beans. Visitors are allowed to sample these fruits once they have fallen on the ground, but they are not allowed to pick them from the trees. The park also features guided tours around the park. The tours are available every day at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3 p.m. Private tours are available for school or club field trips.
Entrance requires an admission fee of $10 per adult and $3 per child, but the entrance has a store open to the public where many fruits from the park can be sampled for free. A yearly pass is also available for $50. [5] A tram is available with a guide for free once inside the park. It leaves from nearby the spice garden. The park includes a cafe. The entrance hall has a large library of gardening books, spices, honey, jams, jellies, and souvenirs for sale.
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is an 83-acre (34 ha) botanic garden with extensive collections of rare tropical plants including palms, cycads, flowering trees, and vines. It is located in the city of Coral Gables, Miami-Dade County, just south of Miami, surrounded at the north and west by Matheson Hammock Park.
The 'Haden' mango is a named mango cultivar that became one of the most widely cultivated in the world after it was introduced in the early 20th century through south Florida. It would ultimately become the parent of many other mango cultivars later developed in Florida.
Redland, long known also as the Redlands or the Redland, is a historic unincorporated community and agricultural area in Miami-Dade County, Florida, located about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of downtown Miami and just northwest of Homestead, Florida. It is unique in that it constitutes a large farming belt directly adjoining what is now the seventh most populous major metropolitan area in the United States. Named for the pockets of red clay that cover a layer of oolitic limestone, Redland produces a variety of tropical fruits, many of which do not grow elsewhere in the continental United States. The area also contains a large concentration of ornamental nurseries. The landscape is dotted with u-pick'em fields, coral rock (oolite) walls, and the original clapboard homes of early settlers and other historic early twentieth century structures.
The 'Sensation' mango is a late-season mango cultivar that originated in south Florida and was grown on a commercial scale.
The 'Cushman' mango is a mango cultivar that originated in south Florida. The variety had limited to no commercial application but has been sold as a dooryard tree.
The 'Springfels' mango is a large, commercially grown mango cultivar that originated in south Florida.
The 'Palmer' mango is a large, commercially grown late-season mango cultivar that originated in south Florida.
The 'Fairchild' mango is a commercially grown mango cultivar originating in Panama. The 'Fairchild Emerald' mango is a named mango cultivar that originated in southwest Florida.
The 'Anderson' mango is a named mango cultivar that originated in south Florida.
The 'Carrie' mango is a named mango cultivar that originated in south Florida, USA.
The 'Gary' mango is a named mango cultivar that originated in south Florida.
The 'Gold Nugget' mango is a named mango cultivar that originated in south Florida.
The 'Graham' mango is a named mango cultivar which originated in Trinidad.
The 'Hatcher' mango is a named commercial mango cultivar that originated in south Florida.
The 'Jakarta' mango is a named mango cultivar that originated in south Florida.
The 'Kensington Pride' mango is a named commercial mango cultivar that originated in Australia. It is sometimes called the KP, Bowen or Bowen special. It is Australia's most popular mango, accounting for over 80% of the country's annual commercial mango market. It is considered to have a distinctive flavour and aroma when compared with the Florida-bred cultivars grown by most mango-exporting countries.
The 'Lancetilla' mango is a named mango cultivar that originated in Honduras.
The 'Lippens' mango is a named mango cultivar that originated in south Florida.
Malgova' or Malgoa is an important mango cultivar mainly grown in Tamilnadu, Kerala and Karnataka and also in other parts of South India. It is a large round fruit, it has a small hard seed inside and is very juicy and fragrant. It is generally considered to be one of the best mangoes. Its production area is centred on the districts of Salem, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, as well as neighbouring parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
The 'Sunset' mango is a named mango cultivar that originated in southwest Florida.
25°32′08″N80°29′39″W / 25.5356°N 80.4942°W