The Garden of Bel Air

To discover a typical creole garden during your stay in Martinique, the Jardin de Bel Air is the one you should visit. This traditional Martinique garden is located in Morne Pitault (Le Lamentin), about fifteen kilometres from Fort-de-France. 

It is there, on this steep relief, strewn with volcanic bombs, that a couple of botanical enthusiasts have created a piece of paradise. With the Bakua as its emblem, the Jardin de Bel Air is a must for plant and nature lovers.

The Jardin de Bel Air: a real Creole garden

From the Morne Pitault, the view on the Lamentin, Fort-de-France and the François is breathtaking. However, this is not the only interest of this Martinique summit. On these heights, Jean-Louis Marie-Rose and his wife have created a splendid traditional Creole garden. The soil made of volcanic rocks and the steep slope of the land could have put them off.

However, despite the difficulties, they have carried out their ambitious project. Twelve years ago, they prepared the land and laid out the garden by themselves. Then, gradually, they introduced a wide variety of plant species. Thanks to their hard work, the 3400 m2 of the Jardin de Bel Air are now cultivated in terraces. They now share the fruits of their labour during exciting and enriching visits.

The owners themselves will welcome you and show you around their private garden. A subtle mix of ornamental, medicinal and food plants, this Creole garden will delight your senses. The plants form a unique ecosystem, where they work together to protect, live and develop.

Thus, the owners do not need to use fertilizers or phytosanitary products. On the contrary, they promote a natural, old-fashioned garden, designed with respect for man and the environment. Their know-how and their methods are ancestral. This is probably what makes the Jardin de Bel Air so beautiful.

A promise of exoticism and escape

In this private garden, flowers rub shoulders with fruits, vegetables and spices. The Garden of Bel Air brings together plants for decoration, health care and, of course, food. The Creole garden is first and foremost a subsistence garden. The Marie-Roses have planted many fruit trees and food plants.

During your visit, you will walk among jackfruit, cocoa, coconut, mango, pine and guava trees. You will discover local fruits such as babardine, apple-cinnamon and apple-liana. In the vegetable garden, you will see salads, yams and peppers. If it feeds, the Creole garden must also be beautiful. That is why, like the bromeliads and the balisiers, the trees and ornamental plants take pride of place. It is also thanks to them that Martinique owes its nickname of "island of flowers".

The Jardin de Bel Air is a real promise of exoticism, where plants flourish in harmony. At the end of your stroll through the garden, you can end your visit by discovering the "Antan Lontan" museum. Everyday objects from different eras are on display, such as a collection of sewing machines.
The Garden of Bel Air thus assures you a memorable trip to the heart of the popular Martinique culture.