The Miami-Dade County Chapter of the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association (FNGLA) in partnership with the Montgomery Botanical Center’s (MBC) Seedbank Program, Flamingo Gardens, and other botanical contributors operate the Botanical Auctions website. The auction originated in 1998 when Miami-Dade FNGLA Director John DeMott, a lifelong South Florida nurseryman and frequent visitor of Montgomery Botanical Center, was horrified to see rare seeds on the ground decomposing instead of being collected and distributed for propagation. At the time, MBC focused its limited resources to its historic goals of collecting plant material, research, and planting their 120+ acre site. Over several meetings and discussions, DeMott, and then MBC executive director Terrence Walters, entered into an agreement whereby seeds would be collected by MBC and Miami-Dade FNGLA would handle distributions. In doing so it created avenues of funding to support the local non-profit Miami-Dade FNGLA, MBC was able to hire more staff in support of the seedbank program to increase collections and funding, and the local member nurseries had a new supplier of rare tropical plants. The operation was expanded to include Flamingo Gardens soon after. These multi-decade partnerships have served the vast needs of each stakeholders’ constituency in supporting the needs of collecting, preserving, propagating, and distribution of rare, exotic, and unusual seeds.
For a more detailed history of the Miami-Dade FNGLA Seedbank Program click here: https://www.montgomerybotanical.org/conservation/seeds-seeds-and-more-seeds/
Your participation in this auction provides proceeds that support plant exploration throughout the world and non-profit botanical gardens. This program further enhances our goals of preserving through propagation and study, rare plants and unusual plant species. Furthermore, your support of the Miami-Dade FNGLA supports horticultural research and educational programming. For more information about the Miami-Dade FNGLA Botanical Auction, please contact:
Miami-Dade Chapter FNGLA
18710 SW 288 Street,
Homestead, Florida 33030-2309
(305) 248-1117
