Since 1992, the International Garden Festival has been held annually on the grounds of the Château of Chaumont-sur-Loire, close to Tours, France. Landscape architects and outdoor space designers, who were chosen after a very competitive process, participate in the event to display excellent experimental gardens.

The International Garden Festival is well known as a must-attend event for anyone who loves landscaping. Every year, breath-taking tableaux on a particular topic are created from over twenty plots, each between 100 and 250 square metres in size, that span a portion of the grounds at the Château of Chaumont-sur-Loire. Each temporary garden is then taken down in the fall and rebuilt for the next season using a fresh inventive idea.

From 26 April until 6 November 2022, the 30th edition of the festival explores the notion of ‘Ideal Garden’. Around 200 applications have been submitted this year, all anonymous to ensure impartial evaluation by the Jury. The contest comes with a very specific list of requirements and rules covering a variety of criteria including, for instance, public accessibility, height of vegetation growth, as well as an original design and immersive experience. Only 24 applications will be selected in December.

The contest is open to: landscape designers, architects, industrial designers and artists from France and all around the globe. This year, the Lyon-based architecture practice Archigroup submitted a conceptual and artistic proposal, which was accepted by the Jury. For their project, Archigroup chose to develop the concept on a larger scale and create giant oyas half-buried in the ground so the upper part remains visible. The installation is intended as an educational opportunity for visitors and a chance to raise awareness of a system usually concealed underground. While traditional oyas are usually filled manually, the firm topped each installation with a large metal structure to achieve complete autonomy. The giant petals covered with fabric by Serge Ferrari Group work as a clever rainwater collection system, allowing oyas to refill without any human intervention. The idea was for the pot, metal structure and fabric to fuse together into a shape evocative of a juicy, water-filled fruit: the pomegranate — grenade in French, hence the name of the garden.

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