The theme is Borders

The International Garden Festival is pleased to announce the projects selected for its 26th edition, titled Borders, which will run from June 21 to October 5, 2025. Ève De Garie-Lamanque, Artistic Director, has invited designers from all over to rethink the notion of border in today’s postcolonial context and to transpose these reflections into a garden environment that blurs disciplines, renegotiates preconceived ideas about garden/landscape, and actively dialogues with visitors. A total of 180 projects by designers from 27 countries were submitted.

You Shall (Not) Pass
Photo credit: Simon Barrette

This year’s jury was composed of Vincent Guiné (Landscape Architect DE – Urbanist, Conseil d’Architecture, d’Urbanisme et de l’Environnement de Paris; Vice-President, Fédération Française du Paysage d’Île-de-France; Guest Lecturer, Département Projet, École Nationale Supérieure de Paysage de Versailles), Gabriel Lacombe (Architect OAQ; Landscape Architect; Visual Artist; Co-Founder, Atelier MAP), Lucie St-Pierre (Landscape Architect AAPQ, FCSLA; Senior Partner, Lemay), Alexander Reford (Director, Reford Gardens / International Garden Festival); Ève De Garie-Lamanque (Artistic Director, International Garden Festival); and François Leblanc (Technical Coordinator, International Garden Festival).

The Four Gardens selected for the 2025 Edition

BACK / GROUND
Patrick Bérubé | Québec, Canada

BACK / GROUND
Photo credit: Patrick Bérubé

BACK / GROUND
Photo credit: Patrick Bérubé

Peek-a-Boo
Hermine Demaël, Stephen Zimmerer | Québec, Canada + United States

Peek-a-Boo
Photo credit: Hermine Demaël, Stephen Zimmerer

Peek-a-Boo (detail)
Photo credit: Hermine Demaël, Stephen Zimmerer

Scars of Conflict
Michael Hyttel Thorø | Denmark

Scars of Conflict
Photo credit: Michael Hyttel Thorø

Scars of Conflict
Photo credit: Michael Hyttel Thorø

You Shall (Not) Pass
Simon Barrette | Québec, Canada

You Shall (Not) Pass
Photo credit: Simon Barrette

You Shall (Not) Pass
Photo credit: Simon Barrette

Special Mention

Three projects received a special mention from the jury:

• EN CAS D’INTRUSION COMPOSEZ 511, by Boris Pintado (Qc, Canada)
• Le Langage de l’érosion, by Rémi Bonin and Vincent Morrier (Qc, Canada)
• Lookout to a Scented Garden, by González Serrano Studio+ (Spain)

The International Garden Festival

The International Garden Festival is recognized as one of the most important events of its kind in North America and one of the leading annual garden festivals in the world. Since its inception in 2000, more than 180 contemporary gardens have been exhibited at Grand-Métis and as extra-mural projects in Canada and around the world. Presented at Les Jardins de Métis / Reford Gardens, 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 over 20 conceptual gardens created by more than 70 architects, landscape architects and designers from various disciplines.