Kévin, Maya and Maeva at Domaine d'Émeraude
For the grand finale of the RK Heritage series at Rendez-vous aux Jardins 2026, Kévin Belcoua returns. After discovering five gardens alongside his grandparents Émile and Jocelyne, he wanted to pass on his experience to others: he took two classmates, Maya and Maeva, to the Domaine d’Émeraude.
In the heart of Martinique’s hygrophilous forest, under the guidance of Patrick LAPU, nature guide, they discover that learning to see is first and foremost learning to taste, listen, understand… to see truly.
Kévin didn’t come alone… After crossing five gardens alongside his grandparents Émile and Jocelyne, he was keen to bring along two classmates for the last of the series. Maya and Maeva had never been to the Domaine d’Émeraude before. Neither had he. But something told him this place was best discovered by more than one person.
Sometimes, the transmission doesn’t go from grandfather to grandson. It circulates laterally, between friends and peers.
Domaine d’Émeraude is located in Morne Rouge, in the heart of the rainforest, in the shadow of Montagne Pelée. Open to the public since 2010, it has been awarded the Jardin Remarquable label by the French Ministry of Culture. It is here, for the Rendez-vous aux Jardins 2026 under the theme of view, that the three young people will learn to really look.
Le Domaine d'Émeraude, a multi-faceted read
“Here at the Domaine d’Émeraude, you’ll find over 2,000 varieties of plants, a mix of medicinal, ornamental and epiphytic plants,” explains Patrick LAPU, guide and nature guide at the Domaine d’Émeraude.
For the past ten years, he has been welcoming and guiding visitors to this site, which he knows down to the last detail.
“That’s my leitmotiv. I love this nature. If I had to do it all over again, I’d do it for 20 or 30 years,” he confides.
What sets Domaine d’Émeraude apart from the other remarkable gardens in Martinique is its location in the very heart of the hygrophilous forest. ” It’s the climate that produces the variety that sets us apart from the others,” explains Patrick LAPU. Medicinal plants, tree ferns, royal palms, bromeliads, heliconias and cordylines make up a living tableau that changes according to the angle and the time of day.
The architecture of the estate deliberately plays with these different interpretations.
You’ll have squares, or “prises de vue”, where you can get a sense of the landscape,” stresses Patrick LAPU.
“From every point of view, you get a different reading.”
Two places are particularly close to his heart: the Exploration Pavilion, which tells the story of Martinique’s volcanic birth, and the Arboretum, where tropical species unfold in majesty.
And when the sky clears, the panorama widens still further: the silhouette of Montagne Pelée and the Pitons du Carbet appear in the distance, adding another dimension to the view.
On the day of the visit, the low clouds didn’t lift the veil on this distant view, but the nearby garden revealed all its richness.
Neem, a plant of the future
Kévin, Maya and Maeva chose to let themselves be guided. At Domaine d’Émeraude, visits can be made independently, but when the opportunity arises to be accompanied by one of the site guides, the experience takes on a whole new dimension.
Patrick LAPU stops in front of a slender tree with thin leaves. ” The neem,” he announces.
“Neem is a natural purifier. It cleanses the blood, it purifies.”
Native to India, neem (Azadirachta indica) has been used for thousands of years in traditional medicine. Acclimatized in Martinique, it testifies to the pharmacological wealth of tropical plants, a treasure that Domaine d’Émeraude makes available to the public.
Patrick LAPU delicately picks a few leaves and hands them to the three youngsters. “I invite you to taste them. Chew, you can swallow, there’s nothing to worry about.” Kévin tries first, Maeva follows, Maya closes the line. Faces crinkle: “It’s bitter!”, and Patrick smiles.
“It’s very bitter, yes. But it’s a plant for the future.”
A plant for the future: From the mouth of a guide who has been accompanying visitors for ten years, the formula says it all: nature as a remedy, ancestral knowledge as a resource for the present.
The real view is transmitted in Creole
The neem episode is not an anecdotal detour. It’s exactly what Patrick LAPU wants to get across.
“The role of Domaine d’Émeraude is to raise awareness at an early age, to get to know and understand.”
At a time when global warming is shaking up the island, with the massive arrival of sargassum and the changing seasons, Patrick LAPU has a clear mission: to reconnect with nature.
To say it, he chooses his mother tongue.
“Matinik sé ta nou. Pwotéjé la nati, sé pa ki di an bouch, fok nou fè-y an aksyon.”
(Martinique belongs to us. Protecting nature doesn’t just mean saying it, it means doing it).
Maya and Maeva smile. They know these words, their grandparents told them. Kévin, for his part, nods his head: he has just understood why, after five remarkable gardens discovered with Émile and Jocelyne, he absolutely had to finish here, with his two friends.
Rendez-vous aux Jardins 2026: seeing the real thing as a family (and in friendship)
At a time when there is much talk of reconnection, Domaine d’Émeraude offers an embodied response. Not a show, but a learning experience.
“The rainforest is the ultimate,” confides Patrick LAPU.
“The ultimate for someone who’s looking for themselves, who’s going to reconnect. It’s the one that the forest will inspire a lot of things, because you find yourself in the heart of the forest.”
It’s also a message to the people of Martinique themselves.
“Domaine d’Émeraude is not well known in Martinique. Come and visit the estate. It’s a nature interpretation site that will explain to you how, why, and that will allow you to evolve around this nature, to know it, to understand it, to continue.”
“The real view is the truth, what you’re going to see, what you’re going to discover,” concludes Patrick LAPU.
Kévin, Maya and Maeva leave the estate with a few neem leaves at the bottom of their bags, perhaps still with the bitter taste that heralds a plant for the future. And with the conviction that they will return, in their turn, with other comrades, other little brothers and sisters.
Six gardens ago, Kévin followed his grandparents. Today, he leads the way.
The transmission has changed hands, and it’s only just begun.
📌 IN PRACTICE
Rendez-vous aux Jardins 2026 – Domaine d’Émeraude
📅 Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June 2026
📍 Route de Deux-Choux, 97260 Le Morne Rouge, Martinique
🌿 Self-guided tour, can be accompanied by estate guides
An exploration by RICHÈS KARAYIB for Rendez-vous aux Jardins 2026, in partnership with the Direction des Affaires Culturelles (DAC) de Martinique.
