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Air Tahiti Magazine 54
nature > it's the trees that tell the story of fare rau ape, this house at the top of a hill. the house was built amongst forty-year old lychee and mango trees. without cutting down a single tree and with very limited terracing, olivier is proud of having been able to preserve this space. yesteryear, in the time of his wife's grandfather, the land was filled with greenhouses and dairy cows which gave the family flowers, fruit and fresh milk. today it's his two sons who keep the garden in line with their childdreams. the parents have also left their mark but in another way, and often with respect of some local horticultural customs. for example the entrance way is dedicated to scented plants including the ixora noa noa which bursts with magnificent bunches of pink flowers that offer a deliciously perfumed welcome to visitors. miri, a type of small tahitian basil, is also close to the entrance. this herb fills the air with its fragrance, flavors food and monoi and can even chase away bad spirits, as the marquesans believe. with ylang ylang, tiare tahiti, vetiver, and miri, this garden has nearly all the ingredients for the marquesian aphrodisiac called kumehei. it lacks a certain fern and pandanus but even so, it's enough to make anyone's head spin! plants are so well loved at fare rau ape that a sculptor from easter island was contracted to create a monumental tiki with a flower crown. he sits on a giant aracaucaria araucana that originates from new caledonia. the same trees were once in pots and were used as christmas trees over twenty years ago. "i like concrete," says olivier who is an architect. "but also trees." > frangipanier, tipanie en tahitien / frangipani, tipanie in tahitian > on aime tellement les plantes au fare rau ape que l on a confie a un artiste pascuan la realisation d un tiki monumental couronne de fleurs. il trone sous de gigantesques araucaria araucana originaires de nouvelle-caledonie, les memes qui petits, en pots, avaient fait office de sapins de noel voila plus de vingt ans. «j aime le beton, indique olivier, architecte de profession, mais aussi les arbres». avocatiers, cocotiers, arbres du voyageur, palmiers, bambous jaunes, verts, rouges ils sont l ame de ce jardin. ils ont chacun leur histoire. comme celle de cet avocatier, issu d un noyau d une espece originaire d israel. «mon pere m avait offert ce noyau, considerant que les avocats de tahiti, plus gros, etaient moins gouteux». olivier le plante, l arbre pousse et donne rapidement des fruits. de beaux avocats a la couleur noire, a la forme plus allongee que celle de leurs cousins tahitiens. mais la nature etant extraordinaire, ces avocats devinrent, avec les annees, plus gros et plus verts, perdant meme leur saveur moyen-orientale ! cote fleurs, en bon tahitien, olivier collectionne certaines especes. les fleurs de ses mussaenda, aux faux airs fanes, se colorent en blanc, rose pale ou plus soutenu. ses hibiscus ont fait l objet de multiples echanges de greffons avec ses amis jardiniers passionnes. quant a sa collection d oiseaux de paradis, elle s est longtemps enorgueillie de presenter une espece hawaienne, introuvable a tahiti et extremement fragile. devenu paysagiste sur le tas, olivier reconnait avoir ete surpris par le travail reclame par toute cette variete vegetale. il faut sans cesse tailler ces arbres qui menacent de boucher la vue sur le lagon, « ces bambous qui font la course a celui qui sera le plus haut ». les deux enfants de la maison ont, eux aussi, bien grandi. la cabane au fond du jardin a ete abandonnee, mais resteront toujours leurs souvenirs sucres au gout de litchi, et ces sentiments de liberte et d aventure que procure un tel jardin. bambou rouge / red bamboo 44 r e v u e d e b o r d n ° 5 4 / a i r ta h i t i / o n - b o a r d m a g a z i n e n ° 5 4 3 3
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