The International Garden Festival has begun in Quebec’s Redford Gardens, with six award-winning garden installations open to the public for the first time.

The projects – which were chosen ahead of 156 rival submissions in a special competition to be included in the 18th edition of the festival – are displayed alongside a number of other commissioned gardens created by more than 70 architects and landscape designers from various disciplines.

For the contest, the jury called for garden designs that “re-think play and take part in the global discussion over nature-deficit disorder.” This year’s event is intended to inspire young people to see outdoor play as “just as interesting, if not more fun,” than on-screen amusement.

The International Garden Festival is the leading event of its type in North America. Since its inception in 2000, more than 160 gardens have been exhibited at the city’s Redford Gardens, on the banks of the St Lawrence River.

The garden designs selected for the 2017 edition are:

L’Escale by Collectif Escargo

Designer Pierre-Yves Diehl, landscape architect Karyna St-Pierre and art teacher Julie Parenteau



“Small plots of land on wheels, wagons for children, are made available to be chosen, adopted and brought along for our visit of the festival site.”



The Woodstock by Atelier Yok-Yoh

Architects Steven Fuhrman, Samson Lacoste and Luc Pinsard, teacher Laure Qarémy and architectural engineer Pauline Lazareff



“An unusual playground grows in the shade of trees and forms a play space where the children become giants, perched at the top of the wooden causeway.”