Montgomery Botanical Center

Montgomery Botanical Center is a 120-acre non-profit botanical garden on Old Cutler Road in Coral Gables, founded in 1959 to advance science, education and conservation of tropical plants, with an emphasis on palms and cycads. It is a working research garden rather than a walk-in attraction, and visits are made by appointment on a guided golf-cart tour.

Guides drive visitors across the grounds, past rare palms, cycads and conifers, and into the historic Montgomery house and nursery areas when time allows. Guests also report spotting manatees in the lakes, peacocks, resident cats and tokay geckos along the way.

The garden is a Public Gardens collection partner for palms, cycads and tropical conifers, and its living collection supports researchers and students worldwide. Tours are offered free of charge, and donations support the conservation mission.

Weekday hours run 7 AM to 3:30 PM, with limited Saturday hours and no Sunday access. Wheelchair accessible parking, entrance and restrooms are available, and the grounds suit curious kids as well as plant lovers.

It sits a short drive from Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.