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Fairchild Garden slashes admission for August. Dogs and avocado lovers will rejoice.

Your well-behaved dog is invited to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden one night a week in August.
Your well-behaved dog is invited to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden one night a week in August.

The season of the mango has come to an end. Now it’s time for the avocado — and your favorite canine companion — to shine at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.

And you can witness all this shininess at half the usual price in August.

Grown at Fairchild Farm in Homestead, avocados will be the big stars of this steamy summer season. Did you know there are different kinds of avocado? No, you just put them on toast or in a salad or mash them up into the greeny goodness of guacamole.

But there are different types of avocado — Bernecker, Beta, Donnie, Hall, Miguel, Simmonds — and you can learn all about them at Fairchild’s virtual lecture series. You can also get a few tips on cultivating your own trees.

On Saturdays, visit the garden’s pop-up market to buy your favorite kind of avocado or order an avocado smoothie.

A Saturday pop-up market at the garden will sell avocados grown at Fairchild Farm in Homestead.
A Saturday pop-up market at the garden will sell avocados grown at Fairchild Farm in Homestead.

The garden, which cut its hours due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is also opening up to dog lovers and their canine companions from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursdays throughout the month.

The month ends on a high note on Aug. 29 with Eat Drink Garden, an exclusive, socially distanced dinner under the trees and the stars, with a menu curated by a top South Florida chef. Miami.com attended the Chocolate Garden special dinner back in January, and we can tell you it really was special and also involved wine.

Best of all, Fairchild is chopping the price of admission in half for August, with $12 adult tickets and $5 childrens’ tickets. Remember, masks are mandatory at the garden.

Also ongoing is the Fairchild plant sale, which started in April and has gained popularity throughout the coronavirus quarantine and shutdown. Shop online and make your yard great again.

Bring your pup to Fairchild on Thursday evenings in August. Even Marjory Stoneman Douglas approves.
Bring your pup to Fairchild on Thursday evenings in August. Even Marjory Stoneman Douglas approves.

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

Where: 10901 Old Cutler Rd., Coral Gables

Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. except for 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Thursdays in August

Tickets: Visit times are limited to three-hour blocks; reserve for 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. Must be purchased online ahead of time; box office is closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.

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This story was originally published August 3, 2020 at 2:54 PM.

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Connie Ogle
Miami Herald
Connie Ogle loves wine, books and the Miami Heat. Please don’t make her eat a mango.
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