The International Garden Festival has announced the designers who have been invited to create gardens for the seventh edition of the Festival, which will take place from June 24 to October 1, 2006.
Over 95 submissions from 14 countries were received, constituting the highest number since the inauguration of the Festival in 2000. The following landscape architects and architects will be participating in the 2006 Festival:
*Bosses Design (ric Daoust, Donald Potvin, Jean-Franois Potvin), architects and designers from Montral, Qubec;
*Pete North and Alissa North, landscape architects from Toronto, Ontario;
*Andy Cao and Xavier Perrot, landscape architects from Los Angeles, California;
*Chris Reed, landscape architect from Boston, Massachusetts;
*Atelier le balto (Marc Pouzol, Vronique Faucheur, Marc Vatinel), landscape architects from Berlin, Germany.
Two honorable mentions were awarded to Catalyse urbaine (Juliette Patterson, Michel G. Langlois) from Montreal and Bernhard Kdde from Germany for the originality of their projects.
The seventh edition of the Festival will also include gardens originally presented in 2005 which have been revisited by Kate Cullity and Ryan Sims from Adelaide, Australia; Philippe Coignet and David Serero from Paris, France; and AMMA (Amlie Germain, Marie-Andre Huard) from Montral.
The jury was composed of Stphane Bertrand, landscape architect; Rene Daoust, architect with Daoust Lestage; Carl Johnson, Director of the Muse rgional de Rimouski; Lesley Johnstone, Artistic Director of the International Garden Festival; Marc Mayer, Director of the Muse d’art contemporain de Montral, Bernard St-Denis, landscape architect and associate professor at the School of Landscape Architecture at the Facult de l’amnagement, Universit de Montral; Charles Waldheim, architect and Director of the Landscape Architecture Program at the Faculty of Architecture, Landscape & Design, University of Toronto; and Alexander Reford, Director of Les Jardins de Mtis/Reford Gardens and co-founder of the Festival.
Sixth edition of the Festival honoured
The sixth edition of the International Garden Festival is featured as the cover story of the November issue of Landscape Architecture. This is the fourth time the Festival has been the featured in this prestigious magazine of the American Society of Landscape Architects. The ten-page article by Universit de Montral professors Bernard St-Denis and Peter Jacobs discusses the 2005 edition, accompanied by stunning photographs of each garden. A book featuring 45 postcards of the gardens created since 2000 was awarded the “Prix Coup d’clat” of Festivals et vnements Qubec and the Socit des Attractions Touristiques du Qubec. Designed by Isabelle Drouin and Gaston Ct of Paquebot Design, Quebec City, the book is available for $14.95 from Les Jardins de Mtis, at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montral and at Ballenford Books in Toronto.
The International Garden Festival thanks its main partner Economic Development Canada. It is also grateful to Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Qubec, Emploi-Qubec and Tourisme Qubec for their support. Hydro-Qubec is a major sponsor of the Jardins de Mtis/Reford Gardens and its environmental initiaves.
Reford Gardens / Les Jardins de Mtis
The Reford Gardens /Jardins de Mtis are located on the shores of the St. Lawrence and Mitis rivers in eastern Qubec. The Gardens are a national historic site and one of North America’s premier garden destinations. Created by Elsie Reford over a period of 30 years, they are a living testimony to her passion for gardening and plants. More than 3,000 species and varieties of native and exotic plants that she collected are presented in a breathtaking setting. The historic Estevan Lodge houses a museum and temporary exhibitions. The site offers restaurant services, a gift shop and a garden shop. The gardens will be open to the public every day from June 3 to October 1, 2006.
International Garden Festival
Launched in 2000, the International Garden Festival takes place on the site of Reford Gardens / Les Jardins de Mtis. A unique forum for innovation and experimentation, the Festival presents gardens created by Quebec, Canadian and international designers. The Festival has become an exceptional showcase and launching pad for the participating designers from a host of disciplines. This artistic and tourism event, with as many as 100,000 visitors every summer, also gives visitors a chance to discover inspiring spaces bringing together the visual arts, architecture, design, landscape and nature. The Festival has been widely recognized since its inaugural edition, receiving recognition from the National Post Design Exchange Awards, the Grand Prix du tourisme qubcois and the Socit des muses qubcois.
For further information, please visit www.refordgardens.com or contact the gardens at (418) 775-2222.