Sharon Chigeza
MUTARE-In the misty, emerald embrace of the Eastern Highlands, just outside Mutare, lies a world suspended in time. La Rochelle Gardens, a once-private paradise created by the visionary Sir Stephen and Lady Virginia Courtauld, is a tapestry of vibrant colour and intoxicating fragrance. But the true soul of this place is not woven into its manicured lawns or the legacy of its philanthropic founders; it resides in the gentle hands and encyclopedic memory of a man named Peter Masamvu.
Peter, a man with little formal education in botany, is the unlikely guardian of one of Africa’s most significant collections of original species orchids. His story is not one of academic degrees, but of a profound, lifelong love affair with the most elusive of flowers, a passion passed down not through textbooks, but through the soil itself.
Over sixty years ago, Peter’s father worked for the Courtaulds, the extraordinary couple who were anything but conventional retirees. They were collectors, adventurers, and benefactors whose generosity built schools, civic halls, and the National Gallery in Harare. They also possessed a deep love for the rare and the beautiful, and their garden at La Rochelle became a sanctuary for botanical treasures gathered from the farthest corners of the globe, especially orchids.
As a boy, Peter grew up in the shadow of this magic. He came to love the property not just as a place, but as a living entity. He absorbed stories of the Courtaulds’ philanthropy, admiring their spirit, and in the quiet, humid air of the orchid houses, he found his calling. He set about doing what he could, learning the art and craft of looking after and propagating these finicky plants through patient observation and an intuitive touch.
Today, Peter moves through the gardens with a quiet authority that impresses botanists and casual visitors alike. His knowledge is not cited from journals but is etched into his being. He can recite the names—both Latin and common—of hundreds of orchids as if they are old friends. He can tell you the year each one first bloomed under his care, recount a difficult winter it survived, or trace the subtle ways its leaves have changed over the decades. It is an impeccable, living history held in the mind of a humble custodian.
The beauty of the orchids in their spectacular, ephemeral bloom is undeniable. But it is the beauty of Peter’s brain and his golden heart that truly captivates guests. He doesn’t just show you a flower; he tells you its story. And no story is told with more reverence than that of his favourite, the most treasured orchid in the entire collection: the rare Vanda lombakensis ‘Virginia Courtauld’.
With immense pride, Peter will guide you to this legendary plant. His voice drops to a near whisper, filled with the gravity of a historian recounting a sacred text. “The Courtaulds found the plant in Java in the Thirties,” he begins, his eyes glazing over as if picturing the steamy Javanese jungle. “They took it back to their magnificent greenhouses at Eltham Palace in London, where it flowered just once.”
He then tells of the war, of the palace being bombed, and of the desperate, hopeful rescue of mere fragments of the orchid from the wreckage. It was a phoenix from the ashes, and when the couple embarked on their new life in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, they brought these precious pieces with them. “Since then,” Peter explains, “it has flowered only several times. It bloomed when Sir Stephen died, a quiet tribute. It bloomed again when Cyclone Idai devastated our country, and once more when Covid-19 was at its peak. And now,” he says, peering at a promising new spike, “it seems to be blooming again. Hopefully not a sign of doom,” he adds with a warm, rumbling chuckle that dispels any sense of foreboding.
For Peter, the orchid is more than a plant; it is a barometer of history, a living memory of the family he admires and the garden he loves. Its rare blooms are not coincidences, but meaningful events. “For me, when it flowered it was like an omen,” he reflects, a serene smile spreading across his face. “Like this house, it almost died. But now it’s blooming again. That makes me very, very happy.”
In that statement lies the essence of Peter Masamvu. He is a bridge between a grand, philanthropic past and a hopeful, blooming present. He is proof that passion is the greatest teacher and that the deepest knowledge often grows not in lecture halls, but in the quiet, loving care of a guardian who listens to the stories the flowers have to tell. At La Rochelle, the orchids are the stars, but Peter is their brilliant, humble narrator, ensuring their history—and his own—is never forgotten.
New Ziana
