Throughout France and for three days, more than 1.8 million visitors were able to visit the many public and private gardens on the program of the annual event of the Ministry of Culture and Communication dedicated to the green heritage and the art of gardens. In total, 2 300 parks and gardens, including 500 exceptionally open, and more than 4 000 animations have delighted young and old.
Aurélie Filippetti, Minister of Culture and Communication, is delighted with the success of this edition whose theme this year "The Kindergarten Child" is part of the Ministry’s commitment to arts and cultural education. Thus, many activities (shows, workshops, initiations, readings, surveys, games, etc.) have been reserved since Friday, May 30 and throughout the weekend for the youngest. The exceptional opening of the Emotion Garden in Epinac (Saône-et-Loire) allowed nearly 500 visitors to discover the works made by CM1 and CM2 classes on the theme of the Emotion Garden, under the guidance of a plastic sculptor. The gardeners shared their world with 800 children in the Gardens for Peace in Bitche (Moselle).
The park of the castle of Méry-sur-Oise (Val d'Oise) seduced 500 children, who came in families to learn about biodiversity and gardening techniques.
This 12th edition of Rendez-vous aux jardins has allowed many visitors to go off the beaten track and meet exceptionally accessible gardens, including the Matignon Hotel gardens, which attracted 5,500 visitors including
700 students on Fridays.
Rendez-vous at the gardens was also an opportunity to highlight the growing number of solidarity initiatives throughout the territory. The shared gardens or therapeutic gardens were celebrated, like the 243 working and family gardens in Provence that have been thriving for more than 60 years on a hill in Marseille and which have attracted 400 visitors. The residents of the Saint-Laurent-du-Pont Hospital (Isère) presented to nearly 40 visitors the ethnobotanical garden composed of flowering, medicinal and aromatic plants of Chartreuse that they have been growing since its opening in 2013.
In the same way, the preservation of the environment and biodiversity that has been practised for a long time in all the gardens of the State (neither fertilizers, nor pesticides) and in many private gardens, has seduced many curious people, sensitive to the ecological dimension. For example, 1,700 visitors visited the Champs-sur-Marne area (Seine-et-Marne), one of the first areas to benefit from a management plan put in place by the Centre des monuments nationaux, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication.
The Ministry of Culture and Communication would like to thank all the owners of public and private gardens that have opened their doors, as well as its many partners: the Union nationale des entrepreneurs du paysage (Unep) faithful financial partner of the event, its media partners: France 5, Rustica, Autoroute Info, Vinci Autoroutes and the many institutional partners: the Centre des monuments nationaux, the Comité des parcs et jardins de France, the Demeure Historique, Old French Houses, cities and countries of art and history.
RIn 2015, the theme “The Garden Walk” was taken from Friday 5 to Sunday 7 June.