Vol. 28 / No. 2 FALL 2012 / SPRING 2013

The Kampong of the National Tropical Botanical Garden

MESSAGE FROM ANNChange is a part of life — integral and inevitable.Gardeners know this better than anyone. Plants sprout,flourish and bloom! Gardens transform over time,ebbing and flowing with the rhythms of the seasons.The best-designed gardens are not planned for today,but for the future. Perhaps the fruits of the originalgardener’s labors will only be truly appreciated byfuture generations.

Change is part of The Kampong, as well. The RoyalPalms that David Fairchild adored are no longer here,but beautiful new trees grow where those majesticplants once stood. Every hand that tends to ourcollections facilitates the growth of The Kampong intoits next iteration, just as each one of you contributes toour growth with your passion and support.

I hope as you think about The Kampong and our future,you will reflect on the beauty, the diversity, and thescope of our collections, the way they’ve grown through-out the years, and the myriad of ways they may evolveinto tomorrow’s garden. You’ll think about new connec-tions we might build in the community. You’ll consideropportunities to continue the legacy of David and MarianFairchild and Kay Sweeney.

Thank you for supporting the Kampong!

Push On,

Ann B. ParsonsDirector of The Kampong

MembersMarisa Fort AdamsGeorgette BallancePamela W. ColeHarriet Sweeney Fraunfelter, NTBG Trustee

Dorothea GreenMatthew KujawaMichael N. Rosenberg, D.D.S.Katherine K. ScarboroughChristiane M. Tyson

Kampong Governor EmeritusDouglas McBryde Kinney, NTBG Trustee and Chairman Emeritus

Cyrus B. Sweet III, NTBG Trustee

NTBG Chairman of the Board of TrusteesMerrill L. Magowan

Director and CEO, NTBGCharles R. “Chipper” Wichman, Jr.

NTBG General CounselMichael J. Shea

Kampong Director Emeritus & Honorary Kampong FellowLarry Schokman

Honorary Kampong FellowColleen Schokman

The Kampong Board of GovernorsChairman and PresidentPeter C. Gardner, 2nd Vice Chairman of the NTBG Board of Trustees

V.P. Finance and Development

Federico Sánchez

Associate Counsel – The KampongWilliam T. Muir, Esq.

Chair, EducationAnne MacDonald Korth

Bali Ha’i guests enjoyed a special evening, Cocktails & Caftans, the nightpreceding the main event.

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Guided Tours of the Historic Home and Garden September through JunePurchase tickets online or by phone

Self-Guided ToursMonday-Friday by appointment

4013 S. Douglas RoadCoconut Grove, FL 33133

Website: kampong.ntbg.orgEmail: kampong@ntbg.orgPhone: 305.442.7169

The Kampong Senior StaffAnn B. ParsonsDirector

David T. JonesCurator of Living Collections

Annemarie FurlongExecutive Office Administrator

Ann SchmidtMembership/Events Coordinator

Kampong Notes is published seasonally. ©2013 National Tropical Botanical GardenAll Rights Reserved

Cover Photo: Matt Stock/mattstockphoto.comRead about the unique photographic process Matt developed to create this photograph on page 10.

Photo Editor: Lynda L. LaRocca, Kampong FellowSpecial thanks to photographers, Susan and Mike Stocker –www.onefinedayfla.com, for Bali Ha’i photos on pages 2-4. David T. Jones – pages 5 & 6Alejo Menedez – Back Cover

Graphic Design: 39design & ShareIdeas

Printing: Print Pro Shop, Inc.Printed on recycled paper

Presented by

Lasso the Moon set the stage for Bali Ha’i, capturing the essence of The Kampong!

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Tucked away among two thousand species of botanical plants, overlooking Biscayne Bay,in the heart of Coconut Grove, you discover…

An afternoon of garden beauty, exotic spices, handcrafted cocktails and fabulousfood. Celebrating its 19th year, Miami’s most anticipated garden party featured finecuisine, stylish design and outdoor entertaining — at its best!

L-R: Bali Ha’i Co-Chairs – Kampong Fellow Jocelyn Tennille, Chef Norman Van Aken & Kampong FellowCynthia Seaman with Chef Bee

A sumptuous silent auction L-R: Emily & Rob Ruwitch withKampong Fellow Gina Gardner

L-R: Michael Murphy, Katie Murphy, Barbara Danielson, Margery Berger, Michaela Murphy, Lauren Ritzen, Kampong Fellow Jocelyn Tennille

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Presented by

Bali Ha’i Co-ChairsCynthia J. Seaman Jocelyn Tennille

Culinary Co-ChairChef Norman Van Aken

Host CommitteePeter C. GardnerCourtney BerryEdward T. CutlerRobin & Gary FoxMichael J. FraserGina GardnerSara & Bing HeraldLucy & Arno KutnerDinah & Sean O’TooleDavid RagnowLisa RemenyRobin & Douglas Tisdahl

Featured GuestHutton Wilkinson

Thank you to our2013 Sponsors

www.bilzin.com

A shopper’s delight

L-R: Adam & Erica Kutner, Sean O’Toole, Kampong Fellows Arno & Lucy Kutner, Dani Cooney, Daryl Kutner, Dina O’Toole

Robin Tisdahl (seated) high fives her husband, Doug Hutton Wilkinson & Kampong Fellow Lisa Remeny

L-R: Terry Buoniconti, Kampong Fellow Arno Kutner,Dani Cooney, Kampong Fellow Lucy Kutner

Chefs create lavish bites

Special Thanks toThe BiltmoreSusan and Mike Stocker, photographers

DiamonetteRoyal RestroomsJason SepticYML Cleaning ServicesJames Kishlar, Kampong FellowPlymouth Congregational ChurchPatrick Gleber

and Participating RestaurantsArea 31 AzulCopperboxDolce ItalianFlorida CookeryIan’s Tropical GrillJean Paul’s HouseKhong River HouseLasso the MoonNorman's New World CuisineOishi ThaiShake ShackTuyo

and The Specialty Spirits & WineAngels EnvyBacardiBombay Sapphire EastDewar’s Highlander HoneyHappy WinePapa’s PilarPiper-HeidsieckSt. GermainZyr

and The Market PlaceGurkhaRocKatSlow Food MiamiSpice GaloreTeena’s Pride

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We appreciate our volunteers whohelped make this event special:

Michelle Barros, Gail Beckham, Suzanne Boyer,Lisa Crane, Diane Dickhut, Sharon FitzGerald,Roselle Foster, Judy Hayes, Barbara Hobbs,Julia Johnson, Martha Kent, Lynda LaRocca,David Lee, Francescha Luthje, Tracy Magellan,Frances Parsons, Mary Rose, Candy Sacher,Peter Siegel, Sima Siegel, Monica Silva,Gail Silver, Joan Spector, Julie Spielman

THE WORLD AT OUR DOORSTEP: THE KAMPONG TOP SIX FOR SUMMER by David T. Jones, Curator of Living Collections The astonishing variety of plants – more than two thousand different species, varieties, and cultivars – is the hallmark of The Kampong’s living collections. Each plant displayed in the garden offers a compelling story about its importance to humankind.Here are six of our favorite plants. If you visit this summer, be sure to look for them.

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QUEEN’S WREATH (Petrea volubilis)This beautiful vine, native to lowland forests fromMexico southward to Brazil and the Caribbean,blooms in late winter and spring. The dark purplecorolla of each flower drops off early, leaving be-hind the persistent, pale lavender, star-shapedcalyx. The color and arrangement of the blooms,in dense, drooping inflorescences, suggests wis-teria, an unrelated, equally spectacular vine ofcooler climates. Queen’s wreath grows well on afence, trellis or pergola, but can easily be main-tained as a billowing shrub with proper pruning.Also known as sandpaper leaf, in reference to itscoarse textured leaves, queen’s wreath is droughtresistant and flourishes in the limestone soils ofsouthern Florida. Purple and totally white (‘albi-flora’) forms of queen’s wreath grow on the garden’s northern limestone wall and on a trellisin the courtyard.

AVOCADO (Persea americana)Indigenous to Mexico and Central America and cultivated there for almost 10,000 years,ahuacatl was believed to possess mystical and aphrodisiac qualities. Thanks to Spanish explorers who “discovered” it in the 16th century, avocado is considered one of the mostnutritious fruits in the world. David Fairchild, calling it “the veritable fruit of paradise,”helped to promote the commercial avocado industry in Florida through introductionsfrom Central America and the creation of novel cultivars through hybridization, in theearly 1900s. The garden is home to nearly 30 cultivars, some attributed to Fairchild himself who budded them on rootstock now nearly 100 years old. This late season cultivar, ‘Collinson’, an early local avocado hybrid of minor commercial importance today,helped to open fall and winter markets for Florida avocados by the 1920-30s.

FAIRCHILD’S FIG (Ficus subcordata)A magnificent strangler fig from the rainforests of SE Asia, Fairchild’s fig grows to over 100feet in height and boasts an equally wide canopy of leathery, oblong, dark green leaves.David Fairchild marveled at a wild specimen he and Marian encountered on the slopes ofa volcano in Central Java in 1926. His wish “to have the pleasure of walking under one onmy own place” was realized in 1928 when he planted a seedling, grown from the seed ofthat very same tree, in a corner of the courtyard. Mistakenly believed to be an undescribedfig, it was originally named Ficus fairchildii to commemorate its illustrious collector. TheFairchild’s youngest child, Nancy Bell, was married under the tree in 1939, and numerousother couples have since taken their vows under the garden’s celebrated ‘Wedding Tree.’

NIGHT BLOOMING CEREUS (Hylocereus undatus)Of uncertain origin but possibly native to Mexico and Central and South America, thisclimbing cactus is prized worldwide as a spectacular garden ornamental and intriguing fruitcrop. Its fleshy, three-angled, spiny stems are equipped with aerial roots that attach to asupport and allow the vine to climb. Showy, white, goblet-shaped flowers (up to 12” long)open at night, using their alluring fragrance (and pale color) to attract pollinating bats andhawk moths. The edible fruit, known commercially as dragon fruit or pitahaya, is a tanta-lizing, red-skinned berry studded with green ‘leaflets’ and filled with white, succulent pulp.A fine specimen grows on a column in the courtyard of the historic home. David Fairchildintroduced a number of related species to the garden, including an edible, yellow-skinnedpitahaya he collected in Colombia.

CABBAGE PALM (Sabal palmetto)Native to the southeastern U.S. and parts of the Caribbean, this iconic palm should be familiar to many. Besides being one of the most common native palms in the country,and one of the most widely planted, it is also the official state tree of Florida and SouthCarolina. This robust palm, with its solitary, smooth trunk and rounded canopy of fan-shaped leaves, attracts abundant wildlife which favor the tree for the food (flowers,fruits, seeds) and shelter it provides. Native Americans used the trunks in constructionand the leaves to make thatch. Its terminal buds are still extracted and used in southerncooking to make “swamp cabbage”, a practice that kills the tree. A picturesque stand ofplanted specimens grows at the eastern end of the garden overlooking Biscayne Bay.

GIANT WATERLILY (Victoria amazonica)This wondrous aquatic plant, with its huge circular leaves and one foot wide flowers, certainly lives up to its unofficial title — ‘Queen’ of the waterlilies. While not attainingthese dimensions in the garden’s Lotus Pond, this cold-intolerant herb reaches its fullestpotential in the backwaters of the Amazon River basin where it is native. The undersidesof the leaves (pads) are an engineering marvel, with their network of thickened veins, lend-ing structural support, and sharp spines to repel aquatic herbivores. Flowers, held abovethe water, change from white to pink over a two day period, reflecting changes in the development of the flower as nocturnal beetles feed on the floral parts, aiding pollination in the process. Growing giant waterlilies can be challenging due to their nutritional demands and need for high water temperatures year round.

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NATIONAL TROPICAL BOTANICAL GARDEN HONORS SCOTTISH BOTANIST

L to R: Charles “Chipper” Wichman, Jr., NTBG CEO & Director;Graham Charles George Argent, Ph.D., Fairchild Medal recipient;Ann Parsons, Kampong Director

Kampong Fellows Vivianne Swietelsky, Peter Sibley & Jeanne Nicastri

Kampong Fellows Sukie Kuser & Harriet Sweeney Fraunfelter (Kampong Board Member)

One of the world’s leading authorities on tropical rhododendrons,

Dr. Graham Charles George Argent, was named the 2013 recipient

of the David Fairchild Medal for Plant Exploration. The Medal was

presented during an evening gala on Friday, February 1 in front of

an audience of more than 120 Kampong Fellows, donors, and

special guests.

Throughout most of his four-decade career in tropical botany,

including 26 years at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Dr. Argent

concentrated on the collection, research, and preservation of the

heather family (Ericaceae), which includes approximately 4,000

species of berries, azaleas, heathers, and rhododendrons. He is

considered to be the world’s leading authority on Vireya

rhododendrons, sub-tropical flowering plant found at high

elevations from Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines to Papua

New Guinea and Borneo. Roughly one-third of the world’s 850 species

of rhododendrons are Vireyas.

Praising Dr. Argent’s contribution to plant exploration, NTBG’s

Director and CEO Charles “Chipper” Wichman said, “Recognizing

that the overwhelming majority of the world’s biodiversity, both

discovered and undiscovered, is in tropical areas, and that life on

earth hinges on this biodiversity, the importance of Dr. Argent’s work

becomes quite evident. He has contributed immeasurably to a

deeper, broader understanding of plant life.”

We gratefully acknowledge Kampong Fellow Klara Farkas, who

established an endowment in 2001 to fund the honorarium for

this award.

Special thanks to sponsors

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Kampong Fellows Susan & John Rothchild and Lin Lougheed

Kampong Fellow Judith Parker & guest Roger Webb

L to R: Kampong Fellows Daniel Graeff; Sanjiv Desai; Courtney Berry; Peter Gardner (Kampong Board Member); Jill Penman; Matt Kujawa (Kampong Board Member)

Kampong Fellows Laurinda Spear &Marisa Fort Adams (Kampong Board Member)

Kampong Fellows Marianne Montoro, Andrea Rice & Irène KaynorMichael Maunder, Ph.D., Florida International University and David Jones, Kampong Curator of Living Collections

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THE KAMPONG FURTHERS NTBG EDUCATION MISSION THE TROPICAL BOTANY LEGACYThis unique 3½ week-course engages students through a variety

of in-depth learning opportunities. Classroom lectures in the

historic living room and Kenan Lab are combined with extensive

field trips through our collections, along with outings to Fairchild

Tropical Botanical Garden, Montgomery Botanical Center and

the Everglades. The dining room and classroom become extensions

of the Kenan Lab as students examine plant specimens and

record their observations. The Tyson Dorm in the Scarborough

House provides excellent accommodations, giving students a

true immersion experience in tropical botany at The Kampong.

This course has been taught by Walter Judd, Ph.D. and University

of Florida Professor Emeritus, since 1981. Over his distinguished

career, Judd has published more than 150 scientific articles as

well as one of the most widely adopted textbooks in the field,

“Plant Systematics: a Phylogenetic Approach,” now in its third edition.

Throughout his career, he has been at the forefront of integrating

traditional anatomical approaches to understanding plant diversity

with modern DNA-based techniques. He is also one of the world’s

leading experts on Caribbean plant diversity, as well as on the

heath and melastome plant families.

THE NEXT GENERATIONFounded in 2009, the Barnyard Educational Program serves youth from the West Coconut Grove neighborhood through a pro bonoafterschool enrichment program. The students come to The Kampong for two 6-week sessions during the school year. The focus of theprogram is to engage the children and build their knowledge of tropical plants, science, and art. The students have had cooking lessonsto encourage healthy food choices and tasted a wide variety of tropical fruits. They have participated in yoga classes in the garden.Prominent local artists have donated their time to lead the students in artistic endeavors inspired by the landscape and encouraged themto experiment with different artistic media, textures, forms, and colors.

These students have discovered a new love for tropical botany and appreciation for The Kampong, a beautiful garden in their owncommunity. In fact, several have expressed an interest in pursuing a career in science or botany!

A special note of thanks to Kampong Fellows Georgette Ballance, Diane Rosenberg and Maria Mejia.

THE HAWAII GARDENS

The National Tropical BotanicalGarden was chartered by an Act of the United States Congress in

1964 as a not-for-profit institution.

The mission of the National Tropical Botanical Garden is to enrich lifethrough discovery, scientific research,conservation, and education byperpetuating the survival

of plants, ecosystems, and culturalknowledge of tropical regions.

The Kampong is one of five tropical gardens and five preservesof the National Tropical BotanicalGarden. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

McBryde Garden

Allerton Garden

Limahuli Garden

Kahanu Garden

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HOW DID HE DO IT? Wondering how Matt Stock created the photograph we used for the cover?Matt shares the secret behind this remarkable cover photo:

As an artist, I am captivated by the idea of bringing forgotten or underappreciated localesout of the shadows and into the limelight before they are lost forever. Images have the powerto change the world and I strive to use my lens to give voice to causes that would otherwiseremain silent. Come moonrise when the world becomes a dimmer version of itself, peopletend to forget nature does not tuck in for the night. After seven years of research, I createda unique photographic process utilizing the applied mathematics and science of photogra-phy called “painting with light in the dark®”. I use various light sources to truly paint my sub-jects with light from up to one hundred different angles and then layer these exposurestogether into a final composition. My technique of “painting with light in the dark®” allowsme to show my subjects in a new light, literally, and metaphorically.

To see more of his award-winning work, please visit Matt’s website:www.mattstockphoto.com or for commissioned work, call him 305-322-4422.

Looks like the perfect place to do your banking...

You choose the terms. 9-12 months. 1.00%*APY

This offer is good for Fellows, Members and Staff of The Kampong only,contact Nancy Lorenzo at 305-447-5050 for special rate.

*Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of May 23, 2013 and subject to change. Minimum balance required to obtain the stated APY is $20,000. Certificate of Deposit are subject to penalty for early withdrawal.

www.BiscayneBank.com

4013 S. Douglas RoadCoconut Grove, FL 33133

Website: kampong.ntbg.org

Email: kampong@ntbg.org

Phone: 305.442.7169

PLAN YOUR NEXT VISITEnjoy a one-hour guided tour of The Kampong’s most celebrated trees. Hear the history behind the name “kampong”

and other special highlights as you tour the personal garden of legendary plant explorer David Fairchild.Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the Bay breeze following your tour.

Wednesdays & Saturdays beginning September 410:30AM-11:30AM / 12NOON-1:00PM

Reservations required. kampong.ntbg.org / 305.442.7169

$20 per person / Kampong Fellows and Contributor Level Members are free.