More than 60,000. This is the number of visitors who come to the Amiens Gardens and Hortillonnages Festival every year. Since its creation in 2010, it has become a must-attend event for the people of Amiens and tourists. For this 17th edition, which runs from May 22 to October 11, things have been seen on a large scale: 49 landscape and artistic installations, including 12 new ones this year.
6 landscaped gardens, 5 visual creations, and a student project were selected from over 210 international applications. According to Gilbert Filinger, director of the Arts et Jardins Hauts-de-France association, the festival aims to highlight a festive dimension in a world that is not always so.
New creations between land and water
To discover these new works, visitors can choose between two routes: by electric boat on the Clermont pond and by foot on the trail at Fagots. Three of them have taken place, including Sèves – flower of water by Meaghan Matthews. A dozen blown glass bubbles are placed on the surface of the water and blend perfectly into the natural environment. Another work that may intrigue visitors is Eyes Wide Cut by Émilie Breux. “The artist worked marquetry on wood by painting eyes on tree trunk sections found on the site,” explains Nathalie Vallée, production director of Arts et Jardins Hauts-de-France. An homage to the time when wood was transported by water on the hortillons.
Finally, Apolline Ducrocq proposes Hortillone, large columns of sculpted baskets. Her inspiration comes from old photographs of the world of hortillons and the proud market gardener history of the Picardy region.
By touring the Clermont pond, nine new works will be visible during the visit, including The Palace of Birds, Sea Above, Sky Below, and The Garden feeds the compost. These works have an environmental dimension, directly linked to the living and nature. This year, the student project Mise en abysse by the A8 Collective is also honored. Eight art students from the University of Picardie Jules Verne in Amiens have created an installation denouncing the fragility and lack of protection of the aquatic system.
Their wish is to “make visitors aware of their place in the world, where everyone must pay attention to the environment.”
Paying tribute to the Picardy region
Another significant project, carried out by Openfield, a collective of Belgian artists, is part of this tribute to the Somme region. It is Crue, a landscape memorial representing the historic floods that occurred in the Somme in 2001. “Our work revolves around an elevated pontoon, a sensitive landmark inspired by the improvised footbridges made by the victims, marking the level of the flood,” specify Pauline Cap and Manu Vanderveken, members of Openfield.
Beyond the festive and artistic dimension, “highlighting young creators, as well as an international dimension, were our priorities for this 17th edition,” emphasizes Gilbert Filinger.
The festival in a few figures
- 680,000 visitors since the creation of the festival
- 393 hectares protected where the festival unfolds (95% classified as Natura 2000)
- 1 European prize in 2024
- 330 plant species used, planted, and sown
Arts et Jardins, winner of the European Heritage Prize 2026
“It is a great pride for us and a recognition of our work,” rejoices Gilbert Filinger, director of the Arts et Jardins Hauts-de-France association. A few weeks ago, their Gardens of Peace were awarded the European Heritage Prize 2026, in the category of “Engagement and awareness of citizens.” Thirty contemporary public gardens are located along the former front line of the First World War, in France and Belgium. Designed by landscape architects from countries formerly at war, they still symbolize the duty of remembrance and transmission. “Nowadays, it is crucial to convey a message of peace,” mentions Gilbert Filinger. This year, Arts et Jardins is the only one in France to have achieved this valuable milestone.
