Montgomery Botanical Center

We photographed Lucia Meneses in the kitchen at Montgomery Botanical Center in Coral Gables, where she also led a class in scones as part of Dade Heritage Trust’s Baking in Historic Places. The house belonged to Colonel Robert H. Montgomery, a lawyer, accountant and book collector who also loved plants. In 1936, he founded Fairchild Tropical Garden, naming it in honor of his friend, horticulturist Dr. David Fairchild. He and his wife, Nell, donated the 83-acre tract for the gardens and money for developing the plant collections.

“Montgomery Botanical Center sets a high standard as a living natural history museum,” says outreach manager Tracy Magellan. The 120-acre botanical garden has nearly 14,000 plants in the living collection, many rare and endangered. “Montgomery flourished in the beginning of the growth of the American tropical plant collecting and horticulture movement of the 1930s,” she says. “This November, the plant collection will be 87 years old.”

The Mediterranean revival house has been preserved as Nell left it when she died in 1990, including tea and coffee pots, glassware and bric-a-brac.

Visitors can tour the property by appointment. Visit their website for more information.

Montgomery Botanical Center
11901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables