My hello: A piece of Tropical Heaven for the Tropical Forum!

This is a thread that I've been panning to post since the beginning of the month, when I subscribed to DG! Initially it was supposed to be a "hello, I keep peeking at your beautiful pictures and the funny posts and at the mighty volcano updates and thank you for cheering me up when I needed it".
But, on Shari's birthday (Happy birthday!) I went to an orchid nursery just to have a bit of relaxation from the past stressful week, and I decided to share with you all the beauty of their gardens. I thought that this would fit best, and it would be a nice present for you all!
The place I'm talking about is located further South of Miami, so to me it's a special day every time I go there, since my DH is so nice to cope with 40 minutes of traffic each direction, and then spend unlimited amounts of time just looking at plants... I went with him on 4 such trips so far, and I just hope that, before leaving Miami, we'll just go again to say good bye.
And every time, we took the time to visit the owner's garden (they offer tours of the gardens at least twice a day), and every time it's full of blooms and luscious tropical foliage!
So, here come the photos, and you'll be the judges. This will be my hello for all of you!

a beautiful flowered orchid for sale, I think it is a vanda?

one of the "workers" having a well-deserved afternoon nap!
this pic is taken by my friend (first time to the nursery for her)

and this is my friend, surrounded by flowering dendrobiums with spikes as tall as her!

a huge desert rose (Adenium obesum) surrounded by ground orchids

I think this is Dendrobium nobile growing happily in a tree

palm trees and vanilla plant going all the way up!

oops, I forgot to load the obese rose!!!

closeup of vanilla flowers

and of the bean! the owner played "bee" for the vanilla some time ago...

Cattleyas that smell like roses!

Have no idea what, but pretty to me!

Great shots - thanks for posting!

goofybulb,

That is a very nice nursery, indeed. I want to lean forward and sniff the vanilla flowers. I bet a lot of the blooms there smell heavenly. I like ol' lazy cat, too. Kitty definetly adds to the laid back feeling I got looking at their plants.
Very nice.
Thank you for the scenic trip!

Pam

Thank you Dutchlady! I will keep them coming a bit more, they really made me happy that day, so I want to share. Hopefully everybody will enjoy them!
Now, for all the Brug lovers, I'm really sorry for the fuzziness of these pictures, but we had some gusts of wind, and I was zooming! Until that day, I had no idea how big the flowers are! For the ones like me, they are the length of your forearm!

PamelaQ, if you are ever in Homstead, on your way maybe to Key West, or even in Miami, it's worth a good trip to R. F. Orchids. I will attempt a review on Go Gardening for them, but anything I say does not do them justice!
I wish I could smell the Vanilla flowers, but they were too high up the palms!
Now, how did they call this one? Lobster's claws?

"an artistic view of the brug blooms" is a nice title and an excuse for the blurry photo (again!)

help with an excuse for the blurry blue ginger! I remember weed_woman had a nice shot of this one.

a thread of Jade Vine and another Vanda?
This is a shot taken of my friend again, since mine is still in the blurr!

Vandas/Ascocendas (I'm a bit confused with the names, they might be the same thing?)

The entrance to the nursery, copyright by my friend Lumi

Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoyed your visit!
They will always have a glass of ice-cold fruit juice for you when you get there! Giant Bird of Paradise / Strelitzia nicolai
Cheers to all!

what an amazing place! thanks for posting and welcome to DG!

Wow goofybulb ...I had to pop in and have a peek ...oh my goodness! those beautiful things take we tropical wanna be's breath away ...that giant desert rose, humongus Angels (brugs) vanilla pods! and my heart missed a beat looking at that real Jade vine ...what type of temps and were they in hot houses /greenhouses or just under shade clothe ...please don't tell me they were just sitting around in the sun or I will cry.
Thankyou so much for that lovely tour
chrissy

goofybulb wow where is this place in miami? i live here and would love to visit there.great pictures thanks for posting the pictures.
cassie

Thank you for watching!

Ashleykelly, after I finished, I thought I placed too many, but I'm happy that you found the place amazing. It means a lot!

Chrissy, I don't mean to make you cry! But they are growing all outside (our harshest "winter" temperatures went down to about 46F/7C for a couple of nights - that's when I brought my orchids inside, but my vanilla was stuck to the wall, so It stayed outside at all times). Along with a lot others that I didn't take pictures of, either because they were not in bloom, or because I was adsorbed by the ones in bloom. So, they also had in the garden: coffee bushes, an allspice tree, many kinds of palms, and many more orchids that really grow either in the ground or on trees, just a few in pots at the main entrance to the house (those were nun orchids, but some crosses, so they were colored with reds and yellows), bromeliads of all kinds, big and small, and huge ones, with flowers that weigh tens of pounds (the guide said), and those darn bromeliads flower without any apparent effort and forcing, just like my hibiscus plants! I went last time in February with my dad, and other things sparkled thru my eyes. At that time, the jade vine was just putting out the blooming spikes, no color except the regular green at that time. The flower you saw, was among the last for the season, I'm afraid... please don't cry, or I'll cry with you! It may be that this was my last trip there.

Cassie, hello neighbor! I don't know about you, but if I were to marry again, that's where I'd go! One can actually have a party or wedding there. The place is called R.F. Orchids, and is in Homestead. I think the link here should give you more info: http://www.rforchids.com/, then click on "how to contact us" for address and directions, emails and everything. As far as I know, they are not listed in "Go Gardening", I will double-check before adding it as a new entry. For reviews, it is listed in GWD, at http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/1493/. We spend about 40-45 minutes to get there, maybe you would have about 50 minutes -1 hour.

Alexandra

I love your pictures. I hope you don't miss too much by moving to TX.

Thankyou for the visit thru that beautiful nursery. The orchids were just lovely but then so is the whole setting. It is so nice for those of us that can no longer drive to places like that to be able to view them through the eyes of other enthuseists. It was a very pleasurable
experience. More nursery visits please with your trusty camera in hand. Alexandra this was a winner. Lesley.

A lot of wonderful gardens and a lot of very lovely gardeners living in Texas ...Rj and 77 and LouC are but a few of the very special people living in that state ...you will be ok ...and take your camera with you ...thanks again ...now shut your ears :)
Whaaaaaaaah ...boo hoo! what a different some frost makes!
chrissy

All I can say is "WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
What a coincidence I just ordered some orchids from there.
I would love to visit there someday.
Lucky You!!!!!

Goofybulb, those are great pictures! What a wonderful place! WOW!

Where in TX are you moving? Have you ever lived here before?

We love it here. We've been here 31 years! Next to Hawaii, it's my favorite.

Hope your move goes smoothely!

Really enjoyed the pics, Alexandra, what a beautifulplace to stroll through! Thank ypou so much for sharing them with us all.
Jen

R.F. Orchids is Robert Fuchs.
Most everyone who grows vandas probably owns one of his hybrids.
Your pics are exactly what I would dream his place would look like.
Good to know it doesn't look like a lab!!!!
Perfect setting.
Janet

Thank you and welcome to DG, Alexandra. Next time we head towards Key Largo, we'd sure to drop by that absolutely beautiful place.
~Jaye

Great photographs goofybulb! Thank you for sharing!

Beautiful way to begin a long weekend. Never, ever think another picture is one too many, we love it. Welcome to DG and welcome to Texas.

Christi

Ah, I was out of the world for just a few days, and look what happened! So many people visited this thread, I am so pleasantly surprised! Thank you all for the kind welcome and for your lovely words. I really enjoyed this garden. Not so many photos from the "business nursery", but even those rows of flowers waiting for you to pick them up and take them home were eye-catching!
lovetropics,
I already miss Miami, but I hope I am still young enough to adjust to a different city, to a different state, and possibly to a different culture. The hardest for me will probably be to move away from all the friends (we are a little Romanian group knowing each other for more that 15 years, spending all the weekends and holidays together as a family away from home for 6 years). We will probably get to another point in life when we'll call HOME another city, another house, another environment. But I will always consider Miami my home.
Lesley,
I'm happy to take you on a trip around the world, and I'll do it again as soon as I find another spot.
Chrissy,
in 3 days I'll go HOME home for two weeks. They are just entering spring, with tulips, lilacs and all those pretty things I haven't seen for almost 6 years. I haven't seen snow in 6 years as well, spending Christmas and New Years in shorts. I will cry as well, but I'll post pics with those flowers as well so you will cry with me!
Janet,
I think you will be very happy with your orchids. Yes, it is Robert Fuchs, and yes, they have some marvelous hybrids especially for vandas. No lab-looking!
Texasgal77 and Christi/LouC,
I will find a nice topic for the Texas forum to say hello as well, I'm so happy to meet you! El Paso will be my next home, at least for 3 years. Never lived in another place except Miami so far.
Jen (BHM),
I've passionately followed your morning glory thread, and I'm happy to see you here!
heavenscape,
if you happen to be here mid-May, there will be a Orchid festival very close to their place, at the fruit and spice park (15-18May), so you can shoot two rabbits with one bullet! Never been there, but I was told that, even without a festival, it's another must-see for a gardener.
delecie,
I hope you will go visit them sometimes, my camera is subjective, so you might find other wonderful plants and beauties there to share.

Thank you all!
Goofy

Beautiful pics you lucky thing!
Sue

Alexandra, it will be a very nostalgic reunion. I'm sure you will be working out all your senses! Shall pray that you have a safe trip, and a very happy one!
~Jaye

Goofy,
things happen when they are meant to happen in my book. I am sure you are supposed to touch the lives of new people in TX. Looking forward to seeing more pictures. I am glad you are a member though! You can keep in touch with us no matter where you live.