Audubon House and Tropical Gardens, Key West, FL, USA

The Audubon House is a non-profit, educational foundation. It is a non-profit museum and gallery dedicated to the history of Key West and works of John James Audubon.

Audubon visited the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas in 1832. Audubon left Key West having sighted and drawn 22 new birds for his "Birds of America" folio. It is believed that many of those drawings were conceived in the Audubon House garden. Audubon's painting of the white-crowned pigeon features the Geiger tree found in the front yard of the house.The 19th-century home was built by Captain John H. Geiger, licensed harbor pilot and master wrecker, who lived in the house with his wife and nine children. It was an era when shipwrecks occurred daily on the off-shore reef. It was a time of pirates and yellow fever, slave ships and Indian wars.

Antique enthusiasts will appreciate the unique quality of the furnishings purchased for the Audubon House at estate sales and auctions in Europe. Typical of the sort of furnishings to be found in a prosperous Key West home during the 1800's the furnishings reflect the elegance and comfortable living enjoyed in Key West during its prime.

An introduction to the property, its history and the close relationship to Aududon is given by your guide, who then lets you roam throughout the house at your leisure. You will continue your tour by wandering through the gardens along the brick paths shared with skittering geckos. Varieties of orchids emerge from the foliage and trees to surprise you with their vibrant blooms. Bromeliads and other tropical plants and trees abound.

The herb garden and 1840-style nursery provide an historic look at gardening, while native plants and exotics provide an environment that is reminiscent of old Key West. This is the finest tropical garden in the Florida Keys. Please linger as long as you like.