The most beautiful parks and gardens Martinique

On the slopes of Morne Garnier grows a mini-urban jungle where vegetables, medicinal plants and fruit trees live in harmony. This is where the Centre de Culture Populaire Ypiranga de Pastinha Martinique (CCPYPM) has developed an experimental urban garden in an old quarry that had to be completely cleared and redeveloped.

A project that was a little mad at the beginning, but which has been fruitful since the association has been entrusted with the development of an eco-environment, this time located in Tivoli.

It must be said that the CCPYPM association has energy to spare. A dozen people, employees, civic services and volunteers, work daily to reconnect the inhabitants with nature and use the garden as a support for environmental education.

Through the work of the land, the idea is to transmit values such as sharing, raise awareness of eco-citizen issues (waste recycling, safeguarding local heritage) and learn to eat healthily. Here, a part of the plots is managed by the association and the young people of the district; the other part is put at the disposal of the inhabitants to cultivate their vegetables.

Events are regularly organized. People come here to learn how to garden, to watch the aquaponics ponds work and to feed the rabbits and chickens in the garden. The association has also developed a solidarity store that delivers baskets to isolated people, as well as a mini-market every firstSaturday of the month.

Managed by the Acsion Services association, the Atoumo garden (named after the plant that cures "all ills") is home to over 250 varieties of medicinal plants endemic to Martinique. Inaugurated in 2015, it showcases the traditional use of medicinal plants and enables this knowledge to be passed on to future generations. In addition to schoolchildren and local residents who come to attend workshops to learn how to grow a few medicinal plants, the garden also welcomes the general public and sells seedlings for direct planting.

It was here, on this site overlooking the Caribbean Sea, that Marie-Josèphe-Rose Tascher de la Pagerie was born in 1763. The future Empress Josephine spent her first sixteen years here. At the time, this 300-hectare former sugar estate was known as "Little Guinea": 200 slaves worked in the cane, coffee and indigo fields exported to France, and the property had no garden of its own. Destroyed by a hurricane in 1766, the dwelling was left somewhat abandoned before being bought back in the ^19th century. But it wasn't until 1944 and the intervention of Dr. Robert Rose-Rosette, future mayor of Trois-Ilets, that this heritage was restored. All that remains of the sugar mill that was home to Joséphine's family are the ruins, listed as a Monument Historique. The mill where the plantation's cane was distilled is now used to welcome visitors. A museum featuring objects belonging to the Empress has been created, as has a magnificent garden planted with trees. Beautifully landscaped, it is home to a wealth of wild vegetation, including a plethora of African sausage trees. A flower bed surrounds a bust of Josephine. A lovely walk in a green setting.

Since 1975, Georges Pastel has had an unfailing passion for palm trees, which he has passed on to his son. On this plot of land located on the heights of Rivière-Pilote, he has built up an impressive collection of palm trees representing all regions of the world: 300 species flourish here, enriched by exchanges and plants brought back from his travels. If most of them are native to the Caribbean and Central and South America, we nevertheless discover very rare species in what is today the most beautiful palm grove of Martinique.

In Tivoli, the objective of the CCPYPM association (at the initiative of the Jardin de Trénelle-Citron) is even more ambitious: to create on this 6,000^m2 site an ecolieu, i.e. a model place in terms of food, energy and medicinal self-sufficiency, with a guided sensory path, an educational farm and workshops (gardening, composting, agroecology). It is home to the island's first plant library-school, with 150 species listed for the ailments they treat (nervous, intestinal, digestive...). Mini-market every^1st Saturday of the month.

Isabelle and Hervé Damicot are creating a forest garden on the land of a farmer in Morne-Rouge, based on the principles of syntropy. The basic rule of this new form of agriculture is to re-establish the balance between humans and living organisms, and to stop opposing nature and agriculture. According to Hervé Damicot, creator of the Jardin des Papillons in Carbet, then of the Jardins partagés de l'Anse Gaïac, we must try to rebuild the environment in a productive and respectful way, taking nature's interactions as our model. By applying these principles to this 12-hectare forest garden, the aim is to care for the soil and establish healthy, sustainable farming. The site welcomes volunteers and woofers from all over the world eager to learn these environmentally-friendly techniques.

It's unthinkable to stay in Martinique without taking the time to learn a little about bananas, the symbol, along with sugar cane, of the Caribbean islands. Habitation Belfort is a farm that has been established for over thirty years in the commune of Le Lamentin. It specializes in banana cultivation, exporting 90% of its production. It covers an area of over 65 hectares. The aim of the farm is to preserve and perpetuate agricultural activity, and since 2007 it has been awarded the Global Gap label for its sustainable agriculture. The main attraction of this visit is to get inside a real farm that operates on a day-to-day basis, giving you a better understanding of the reality of production. The guided tour lasts around an hour and ends with a tasting of local produce. Last but not least, a banana kid is on hand to help children take an educational tour. After your visit, we recommend a stop at the pretty boutique at the entrance, where you'll find local banana products. The estate is also home to a majestic Creole villa, known as "Les Jardins de Belfort", a dream setting in the middle of the plantation. This villa and the little train are often privatized for seminars, weddings or cultural events. A privileged stopover to discover without delay.