France | Quebec shines in the gardens of the Loire River

(Chaumont-sur-Loire) On April 24, the International Garden Festival opened in the Chaumont-sur-Loire region of France. The guests of honor for the 2024 edition of the Jardins de Métis have been revealed folkloreTheir vision of a garden is woven in Quebec tradition and looks to the future.

Birds and frogs scream despite the falling rain that turns to drizzle in milder bursts. In this inviting grey, some thirty new gardens designed by artisans from around the world light up the site. They are many changing works in an open-air museum.

The Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire is one of those exceptional places that, even in the Loire Valley where World Heritage landscapes abound, is in a class of its own. A place of cultural, artistic and historical encounter, the site is rejuvenated every year by the International Horticultural Festival held from April to November.

Since 1992, more than 900 gardeners' works, mainly selected by competition, have been presented there. Les Jardins de Métis is among the few guests of honor to receive a “green card”.

Among the thirty new gardens presented in this program under the slogan “Garden of the Source of Life,” folklore It stands out with a more conceptual creativity that offers a reflection on the park as a cultural building. Designed by the Jardins de Métis team with landscape architects Luu Nguyen and Émilie Tanguay-Pelchat, this installation addresses tradition in a contemporary and interactive way.

Model the garden of the future

folklore It presents itself: graphic, interesting, vibrant. Four kilometers of thread woven into large frames form a colorful weft that evokes arrows, a finger-weaving technique classified as an intangible heritage of Quebec.

The Métis team has been piloting this project for about a year. “We wanted a vision that took the past into account,” says Yves de Gary Lamanc, artistic director of the International Métis Gardens Festival. In today's digital and consumer age, we are very focused on the future. We have stopped passing on some knowledge. We feel the need to know who we are and where we come from. »

The inspiration came from the arrow belt of Elsie Reford, creator of the Jardins de Métis garden.

“While we were looking for ideas, Alexander [Reford] Tell us about Elsie's silk belt, says Le Nguyen. I was hesitant at first. We all keep in mind the Bonhomme Carnaval and other clichés associated with the arrow scarf. But as we did our research, we realized how rich this tradition is. Basically, we know very little about them. »

The meeting with model Yvette Michelin, one of the few who still master this ancestral knowledge that she has been teaching for more than 60 years, was decisive. She is also the author of a book on archery, in which she describes the technique in the language of the landscape: “It speaks of the outward journey, the return journey, the diagonals, the intersections. It is the discourse of walking. This is where we came together,” note the landscape architects who conveyed the choreography This to the garden.

Everyone has their own imaginary belt

From the front, the panels transparently reveal a botanical palette evoking the boreal forest, its growth and vegetation. Its frame becomes more dense when viewed from the side. Depending on the movements of the observer, the structures overlap to form a large number of arrow belts whose colors are reminiscent of the white of snow, the blue of the sky, the red of autumn foliage, the green of the forest, and the yellow flowers of the meadow. .

The result is a play of colors that changes according to the movements and moments of the season. The belt is constantly being reinvented through the eyes of visitors. Everyone leaves with what they think. Despite its static structure, the site comes alive during visits. The audience experiences the concept and gives way to their playful side, playing with shadows, strings and overlay effects.

“We received a lot from Chaumont, who also inspired us when creating our own festival in Metis,” says Jardins des Metis director Alexandre Revord. In a gesture of reciprocity, the team extends an invitation to Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire which will have its own garden in Grand-Métis during the summer, from 24 to 25 June.^H International Metis Garden Festival.

This trip was organized in collaboration with Atout France. This trip was paid in part by the Val-de-Loire Regional Tourism Committee and Air Canada, and they had no right to review the content of this report.

Visit the Jardins de Métis website