The Sacred Grove
International Garden Festival
Chaumont-sur-Loire - FR
Client
Domaine régional de Chaumont-sur-Loire
Sponsors
Building team
Emma Morillon, Chloé Savalle, Étienne Maliet,
Louise Bégou, Christophe Allignet, Sylvie Very
AJ Rénovation
Lycée Agricole Le Fresne
Budget
12.000€
Links
Sacred groves are recurring elements through history, amongst westerns and non-western cultures. They are protected spaces where mankind converses with deities, primordial and elemental places where nature and humans connect.
This garden is an interpretation of this concept. It stages a fallen tree in the middle of a meadow, surrounded by a dense forest edge. It is a space of intense life where bacteria, insects and fungi are busy decomposing the wood, feeding ground and birds, where perennials, shrubs and saplings are stretching for the light, a space where the death of a tree starts the rebirth of many others. Cloistered by wooden poles, the central meadow become a sanctuary, a place where visitors are guests, invited to have a seat under the trees, contemplate and reconnect with nature.