The International Garden Festival is beginning work on the construction of the new gardens for its 19th edition to be presented from June 23 to October 7, 2018. The Festival continues its exploration of play with Playsages II—Go Outside and Play! and has chosen seven projects that will offer imaginative spaces where families will congregate and play together this summer. The new gardens selected by the jury for the 2018 edition are:

aMAIZEing by Marta Milà Pascual, architect & landscape architect and Marc Torrellas Arnedo, architect—Barcelona, Spain

L’origine de la colonne by Josep Congost and Louis Sicard, architects and artists—Valencia, Spain

La ligne de 100 ans by hatem+d [Étienne Bernier, architect, Marianne Charbonneau, architect, Mélanie Dereymez, intern in architecture, Théo Jarrand, intern in architecture and Steeven Bérubé, 3D artist] — Québec (Québec) Canada

Le rocher très percé by Humà Design [Stéphanie Cardinal, designer, Olivier Laplante-Goulet multidisciplinary designer and Lorelei L’Affeter, artiste] and Vincent Lemay, landscape architect — Montréal (Québec) Canada

Les hélicoptères by Carson Isenor, landscape designer and Anna Thomas, MLA candidate — Vancouver (British Columbia) Canada

Round-A-Bout by ISO [Nuala O’Donnell, intern architect, Maxwell Schnutgen, intern architect and Etienne Issa, architectural designer] — Vancouver (British Columbia) Canada

Assemble by Katie Strang, landscape designer, Christine Dewancker, artist and carpenter and Craig Van Ravens, architectural designer—Toronto (Ontario) Canada received a special mention from the jury and will offer a playsage for visitors of all ages—some assembly required!

These new installations will join the six playsages created for 2017 edition of the Festival that delighted nearly 10,000 children who came with their families, day camps and school groups and 13 other gardens returning for exhibition again this year. The 2018 Festival is also presenting installations on the rooftop of the Musée de la civilisation in Quebec City and on the place De La Dauversière in Old Montréal.

The jury was composed of Jonathan Cha, doctor in spatial planning and urbanism, urban planner and certified landscape architect and member and vice-president of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA); Eda Holmes, Artistic and Executive Director, Centaur Theatre, Montreal; Patrick Pellerin, graphic designer, Principal Studio, Montreal; François Leblanc, technical director, International Garden Festival and Alexander Reford, director, Reford Gardens and the International Garden Festival.

The competition attracted a total of 148 projects by over 700 architects, landscape architects, designers and artists from 27 countries. The new projects are illustrated here and can be seen on the web site of the Festival. All of the 148 entries are exhibited on the website of the Festival as part of the annual exhibition of competition entries www.internationalgardenfestival.com.

About the International Garden Festival
The International Garden Festival is the leading contemporary garden festival in North America. Since its inception in 2000, more than 175 gardens have been exhibited at Grand-Métis and as extra-mural projects in Canada and around the world. Presented at Les Jardins de Métis, at the gateway to the Gaspé Peninsula, the Festival is held on a site adjacent to the historic gardens created by Elsie Reford, thereby establishing a bridge between history and modernity, and a dialogue between conservation, tradition and innovation. Each year the Festival exhibits conceptual gardens created by more than seventy architects, landscape architects and designers from various disciplines in a pristine environment on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. The International Garden Festival is presented with the financial assistance of many public and private partners: Canada Council for the Arts, Canadian Heritage, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and Emploi-Québec.

About the Reford Gardens/Jardins de Métis
A National Historic Site and Québec heritage site, the Reford Gardens/Jardins de Métis are an obligatory stop for all those visiting eastern Québec. Cultural space and tourist destination for over 55 years, the Reford Gardens is one of the most popular attractions in the Gaspésie region, providing visitors with experiences for every sense. Located on the banks of the St. Lawrence and Mitis rivers, they were created between 1926 and 1958 by avid gardener and plant collector, Elsie Reford. Hydro-Québec has been the lead sponsor of the Reford Gardens since 1999.

The gardens will be open every day from Saturday, June 2 to Sunday, October 7, 2018. Children 13 and under are admitted free of charge. Consult www.refordgardens.com for more information.