International Garden Festival 10th Anniversary Edition
The International Garden Festival in Metis, Quebec is celebrating it’s 10th Anniversary this year with a larger than ever roster of gardens and special events throughout the Summer. MoCo Loco went to Metis yesterday to meet with IGF Director Alexander Reford, get a personal tour of the site and to enjoy a six course local food meal colored and flavored by the famous flowers in the Reford Gardens. Over the course of the next week we’ll explore this year’s festival in detail as well as the people behind the show. In the meantime here are some images from yesterday…
Detail from HAHA! by spmb [Eduardo Aquino et Karen Shanski], Ralph Glor, Matt Baker, Martin Gagnon.
The Jardin de Metis is a traditional garden started in the 1920’s by heiress Elsie Reford on the banks of the St-Lawrence river. The International Garden Festival is a contemporary garden festival held on the grounds of the Jardin de Metis. That’s the main house above. The telescope is part of a new installation by artist Dominique Blain that features images of the garden’s creator Elsie Reford. The scopes are scattered through the grounds.
The view inside the telescope, Elsie Reford with her dog standing by the porch (the same porch that’s in the photo above this one).
Claude Cormier’s Jardin de bâtons bleus as seen through Elsie Reford’s balcony door.
Reford Gardens chef Pierre-Olivier Ferry picking flowers for the evening’s meal.
The flower garden harvest in the kitchen; Nastartium (orange-yellow), Tagetes (orange), Crown Vetch (purple) and daisy buds in the jar.
On the second floor of the main house looking out over the St-Lawrence river.