• It's party time for the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire and this year's theme is the ideal garden.

  • Landscape designers, designers or even architects have outdone themselves to propose 30 projects.

It's an anniversary year for the Domaine de Chaumont-Sur-Loire, which is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its international garden festival, as well as its 15th season of art.

“A garden today must be beautiful, good and organic” declared Chantal Colleu-Dumond, director of the Estate and of the festival.

These are the three concepts on which the designers had to look to create these gardens: "aesthetic, therapeutic, nurturing and ecological", according to the director.

Creators as varied as they are cosmopolitan

Czechs, Dutch, Germans, Italians, Chinese, Americans… Many artists from all over the world wanted to take part in this event.

For the three architects of the garden of Thélème, the motivations were twofold: "We participated for the challenge and to learn things", declared Lucien Pigeart De Gurbert.

They are biologists, botanists or even designers.

Through the gardens, all their know-how is put in the spotlight.

Innovation is more present than ever with gardens made of recycled plastic fountains, colored pockets of water, mirrors... All this in the service of the intimate expression of their vision of the ideal garden and in the deep respect of the environment. nature.

“She will regain her rights at one time or another”

Moray Didier, who helped his students in Belgium to create the vegetable cocoon garden, perfectly sums up the thinking of our designers: nature comes first.

In the current environmental context, many gardens seek to remind us that: “We are a part of nature, which was there before us”, as Jason Shinoda, landscape architect of the garden of reciprocity, said.

The creation of gardens obviously raises the question of water.

To be the most respectful of the environment, the artists racked their brains.

Some like Aymeric Dufour went looking for ancient China.

He has brought oyas, which are terracotta jars, up to date.

This self-regulating irrigation system saves 50% to 70% compared to conventional watering.

Gardens that touch our senses and our spirit

The walk in the gardens of the Domaine appeals to all our senses.

Each time you enter a garden, you enter a universe in its own right.

The various colors, the edible plants, the sound of foraging insects and the smells of aromatic plants transport us.

It is in the eaurmus garden that Adrien Folliot and his team offer us “to recharge your batteries next to a menhir”, a real spiritual experience.

We feel that the artists have been affected by the Covid-19.

Many gardens have the theme of sharing and well-being after these difficult times.

Sylvère Fournier offers us a version of a house-garden where people can meet.

“My garden heals both the body and the mind,” he told us.

Once again, the festival surprises and it's not over: "We still have projects for 30 years", jokes Chantal Colleu-Dumond.

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