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Air Tahiti Magazine 54
tahitian gardens don't always have to be luxuriant. if there isn't enough space, just a few flower pots will do. high up in tiparui in papeete, flo welcomes it's been 32 years that flo has lived in this discreet little house on us to her 40 square meter terrace that she has a steep road. barely has she opened the gate when we begin to transformed into a corner of greenery and blossoms. discover her potted plants that she meticulously keeps in perfect plante corail / coral plant flo s little garden order. she keeps her favorite plants near the exterior living area. here she has the plants in her direct vision and can tell them at any given moment that they are beautiful and have such pretty flowers. every now and then a little palm will have the honor of being placed inside the house but she says she has to be careful. she explains to us,"a friend told me that some plants, like azaleas, can die of jealousy if too much attention is paid to its neighboring plant." so every morning flo spends the time to water each plant and trim little branches that have grown too quickly. if the pots are a good way to instill the gardener's wants, they are also a good method to master the growth of the plants. on land, many of these species would grow to suffocate the space. but flo doesn't own her land so what good would it do to plant earth that isn't even hers? her thorns of christ, ficus, dieffenbachia and coral plants were all bought at horticultural fairs at the polynesian assembly or were exchanges she made with friends. when flo is given new plants (which happens often) she doesn't tell her husband who thinks that she has too many horticultural items already. so flo discreetly places the new arrivals in the garden over a few days. her palms are nearly 27 years old, the same age as her daughter. during this time, the palms have multiplied to form a tuft-like hedge. the cactuses have less luck and will soon be sent to the dump because of their spines, which flo sees as a danger to children. her other trees, frangipani, cytherian apples and more, sit demurely in their pots careful not to become too intrusive. 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 47
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