Ten acres of nurtured wilderness, nestled in a canopy of tree fern and breadfruit trees, provide a green frame for the many “micro-habitats” of the rainforest garden created by Anne Jno Baptiste.
There are important collections of aroids, begonias, bromeliads, gingers, heliconias and indigenous orchids forming sumptuous compositions which set off shape, color and texture to their best advantage.
Trails criss-cross cold and hot mineral streams which gurgle along the natural contours of the land leading from one themed glade to another. Sparkling sunlight filtering through the canopy creates windows of light that fall upon plants happily suited to each spot.
To the casual observer it just might all be “natural and wild” yet the luxuriance and tangled growth has been designed with care and to great effect.
Today’s Papillote is the second incarnation of a garden that Anne started in 1967 with collections of mosses, ferns and orchids. “Hurricane David” destroyed this garden in 1979 when the whole valley was stripped of soil and vegetation turning from lush green to bare stone and brown in a few hours.
Papillote Tropical Gardens
