THE BOTANICAL GARDENS

Flamingo Gardens was once the national repository for both heliconia and ginger societies, and has an astounding array of species represented throughout the gardens. Efforts are underway to catalog and restore both collections, but the plants are on display mainly throughout the East Arboretum.

A seasonal area, these gardens host a variety of flowering plants and shrubs to attract many different species of butterflies and hummingbirds. The Ruby Throat Hummingbird visits Flamingo Gardens in the winter. Flamingo Gardens is one of the few places in Florida the South American Malachite butterfly may be found because of the abundance of tropical fruit trees on which it prefers to feed, and the very rare pink-spot sulfur butterfly has been photographed here as well. Efforts are underway to extend these Gardens to include a Native Wildflower Garden.

Butterfly & Hummingbord Gardens

A seasonal area, these gardens host a variety of flowering plants and shrubs to attract many different species of butterflies and hummingbirds. The Ruby Throat Hummingbird visits Flamingo Gardens in the winter. Flamingo Gardens is one of the few places in Florida the South American Malachite butterfly may be found because of the abundance of tropical fruit trees on which it prefers to feed, and the very rare pink-spot sulfur butterfly has been photographed here as well. Efforts are underway to extend these Gardens to include a Native Wildflower Garden.

Arboretum & Champion Trees

The Arboretum of Flamingo Gardens features hundreds of native and exotic trees, accented with lush under-story plantings, ponds, stream, and a waterfalls. Flamingo Gardens holds the distinction of having the largest collection of towering Florida Champion Trees, twenty in total, as certified by the Florida Forestry Service as the largest of their species. It contains the largest tree in the Florida Champion Tree register, a non-native Cluster Fig that measures 649 inches (54 feet 1 inch) in circumference, 102 feet in height, with a crown span of 95 feet.

Live Oak Hammock

A unique native hammock of Live Oak trees, many of them 150 to 200 years old. Nestled in these giant trees are an abundance of orchids, bromeliads, and other air plants. The hammock is one of the highest elevations n Broward County and a choice location for Mr. and Mrs.Wray to build their residence, now the Wray Home Museum.