Johanna Rogers Martin THUS GARDENS ARE MADE AINSI NAISSENT LES JARDINS Johanna Rogers Martin’s life is like the tropical vegetation of her island, with which, in symbiosis, the young Mauritian landscape designer creates gardens and wooded areas with that little bit more spirit. La vie de Johanna Rogers Martin est à l’image de la nature tropicale de son île avec laquelle, en symbiose, la jeune paysagiste mauricienne crée des jardins et des lieux arborés dotés d’un supplément d’âme. BY MICHEL GILBERT DEVILLE PHOTOGRAPH BY KARL AHNEE Like an artist patiently sketching perspectives and details on the canvas, Johanna, 32, draws the plant and mineral setting which two years from now will frame the new Harmonie Golf Villas, in Rivière Noire, in the west of the island. This is not an empty canvas. The local vegetation, the nature of the soil, as well as the contours and exposure of the Domaine Harmonie are her guides in her project. The unmistakable charm of that region’s nature is not unknown to Johanna. A few years ago, she lived in a house adjacent to a strip of land where savannah alternates with wet zones, and where the new project will take shape. Bordered by the bay of Petite Rivière Noire, opening on to one of the largest lagoons surrounding the island, this sun-bathed peninsula is home to a wide variety of natural treasures. COMPOSING WITH LIVING MATERIAL In homage to the original beauty of this region, Johanna is designing a huge garden evocative of the African savannah. The names of the plant species – already present or newly introduced to line the roads and mark out the gardens – sing of tropical diversity and heat: blackcurrant, Creole agaves, Mauritian ebony trees, tamarinds and eucalyptus. By taking into account the types of soil – earth and rocks, coral sand or damp deposits from the neighbouring swamps – and thanks to the virtues of the trees which have adapted to the land, the landscape designer will make the upkeep of the green spaces more eco-friendly, while protecting the villas from the sun and the wind. What’s more, her work will fit in with a programme to rehabilitate the wet zone on the site, covering six hectares. This complementarity can also be seen in the collaboration with the project’s architects. The oasis of fresh greenery and visual harmony that Johanna creates fits in perfectly with the Domaine’s villas’ concept of sustainable architecture. The bioclimatic homes are designed to make maximum use of natural lighting and ventilation, of the land plot’s characteristics, the garden’s plant boundaries and shaded patios. A PASSION FOR AUTHENTICITY A childhood in Mauritius spent surrounded by nature decided Johanna’s future. After studying landscaping in the United Kingdom, she returned to her native island in 2014, and worked on her first assignments for a conglomerate and a prestigious firm of architects. In 2017, she started up her own specialised company, which an expert friend and business partner, with expertise in the same field, joined this year. One single wish guides all her creations: enhancing the natural environment without straining it; being one with nature. In her work as in her life, in addition to her excellent technical skills, Johanna is driven by a passion for beauty, a love of nature and a respect for life cycles. Qualities she shares with her husband, and which are part of a legacy inherited from “parents who were united and very caring, since childhood, towards my brothers and me”. Her father, who died far too young, was “also a close friend” and a role model for life’s important lessons. Could the roots of her passion for nature and the creation of green
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