The theme of the 28th edition of the Chaumont-sur-Loire Internation Garden Festival was ‘Gardens of Paradise’. Our submission got selected! Here follows the description of the garden we created:
”We are sometimes mistakenly led to believe that paradise is a destination, the reward after a long journey. But this is a trap to encourage us to stay on the same path and believe that paradise is waiting for us, beyond the horizon, just around the bend.
Paradise is the path, it hides in the most fleeting moments and the laughter that strikes us out of the blue. Paradise lies in that conversation we have with the one we love, when we finally go below the surface of things and reveal what we really think, even though we were so afraid to do so.
It is a perfect cup of tea: the boiled water, the delicate china, the clear and intense flavour. It is the first bite of a crisp apple. It is a solved riddle. It is the nap that you reward yourself with. It is the helping hand when you no longer had the strength to climb alone. Paradise is fragments, moments, memories reunited.
Like the shiny objects that magpies collect: shards of mirror, a pocket watch, feathers, crystals and jewellery. Paradise is made of the pearls that we make the effort to collect every day and make our own.”
Text by Carrie Preston
Designers: Studio Toop, assisted by Fika, Tess Krüs (graphic and product designer) and Enora Elmoznino (artist and graphic designer)
Pictures by Jolanthe Lalkens
