Presentation

The Festival

The 4th edition of the Festival des Jardins de la Côte D’Azur will be held from Saturday 25 March to Monday 1 May 2023, and this year’s theme will be: "SURPRISING PERSPECTIVES".

The French Riviera, a popular region thanks to its mild climate, lovely coastline and easy-going way of life, is a showcase full of flowers, scents and the art of gardening, with:

  • 75 gardens that are open to the public, 13 of which bear the ‘Remarkable Garden’ label.
  • Globally renowned expertise when it comes to scented flowers.
  • Flower production that is exported.
  • Countless landscaping companies.

Since 2017, every 2 years in the month of April , the French department of Alpes-Maritimes celebrates the priceless heritage of its parks and gardens in a free event, the ‘Festival des Jardins de la Côte d’Azur’.

The purpose of the Festival is to showcase the garden heritage of the French Riviera and to give the general public the opportunity to see just how skilled the landscaping professionals and horticulturists are.

This event is open to the general public, visitors from all over the world, nature lovers, and those who are passionate about gardens and botany...

TTHE CONCEPT :

  • A festival with free admission, held every other year in April;
  • An event with several venues;
  • Cooperation from both the public and private sectors for the same event, on the same theme;
  • A showcase for creators;
  • Iconic sponsors;
  • Brand campaign for the French Riviera.

As part of this free event, the Department organises:

  • A competition featuring 17 landscaped creations across 6 venues;
  • Gardens in the non-competing category, created by the local council’s landscaping department and partner institutions;
  • Conferences;
  • Activities organised across the Department.

AN EVENT BEARING THE ‘GREEN DEAL’ LABEL :

This culture and heritage event is a key part of the department-wide ‘GREEN DEAL’ initiative, working towards ecological transition. The aim of this initiative is to make Alpes-Maritimes a department of reference in terms of sustainable development. With the ‘GREEN DEAL’ initiative, the Department has made ecological transition a priority across the local area.

Creations that respect the environment

  • A special focus is given to environmental issues, water management as well as the prohibition of pesticides and the search for alternative methods.
  • The creations respect the criteria for sustainable development (eco-friendly materials, ash, wood, recycled materials, water management, environmentally responsible behaviour, no chemicals used, etc.) and reduce energy consumption as much as possible (solar lighting for creations or solar pumps for fountains and ponds).

Find out more: https://festivaldesjardins.departement06.fr/en/the-festival/an-environmentally-responsible-festival-49667.html

COMPETING GARDENS

Especially for the Festival des Jardins de la Côte d’Azur, 17 creators, passionate ‘garden artists’ will be putting their artistic talent and know-how into their inventive plant-based creations.

CREATIVE CANDIDATES WITH A PASSION
The competition is intended for landscaping professionals, landscape architects, landscaping businesses, gardeners, landscapers, as well as architects, designers, artists, scenographers, decorators, designers and students from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture et du Paysage.
5 towns in Alpes-Maritimes will each be presenting 3 landscaped creations with a surface area of 200 m² in iconic venues:

  • Antibes - Exflora park in Juan-les-Pins;
  • Cannes - Villa Rothschild gardens;
  • Grasse - Villa Fragonard gardens;
  • Menton - Biovès gardens;
  • Nice - Albert 1er gardens;

In the Principality of Monaco there will be 2 creations of 200 m² each, on the balconies of the Casino.

THE SELECTION COMMITTEE chooses 17 creations from applications received from various countries.

The selection criteria for the landscaped creations are quality, volume, choice of plants, consideration of sustainable development issues and compliance with the chosen theme.

PRIZES
The creations will be assessed in 2025 by a panel of 3 judges and 7 prizes will be awarded:

  • A jury prize awarded by the Festival judging panel made up of personalities and parks & gardens representatives.
  • A GREEN Deal prize awarded to the most environmentally responsible garden, by the Festival jury.
  • A media prize awarded by a panel of French and European journalists from the gardening press.
  • A landscape professionals prize awarded by the UNEP (French Union for Landscaping Companies).
  • An “artistic” favourite will be named by each of the 3 juries.

Competition launch from December 2023

For information relating to competition specifications, please fill in the contact form: https://festivaldesjardins.departement06.fr/en/formulaire/contact-form-14386.html

POP-UP GARDENS IN THE 'NON-COMPETING’ CATEGORY

6 gardens are created by the partner town council gardening services, 1 of which is designed by the Principality of Monaco.

1 ‘training’ garden designed and created by the Vert d’Azur Campus, in partnership with the UNEP.

A few other non-competing gardens will also be created by participating local councils (Cagnes-sur-Mer, Cap d’Ail, Mandelieu-La Napoule, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Tourrettes-sur-Loup, etc.).

A PROGRAMME OF OVER A MONTH OF CULTURAL EVENTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

To prolong the garden experience, the Festival includes event weekends with various workshops, orienteering games, lectures, exhibitions, open days and of course tours of the parks and gardens of the French Riviera.

 

NEXT FESTIVAL: APRIL 2025