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FIRE : THE SURPRISING GARDENER

by Amber Myers - Studio Fish & Pot (South Africa / The Netherlands)

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Episode 116
4 min / Published

All along the coastline of the French Riviera, a mosaic landscape is being formed by natural processes. Fire and wind are the two key elements that determine form and growth in the Mediterranean - fire darkens the land and creates space for pioneering species to emerge, while its winds carve patterns and lines into the vegetation to create unique shapes.

This garden, inspired by these processes, encourages visitors to reconsider the perspective of fire as a destroyer only, and to reflect on its undisputable role in shaping the Mediterranean landscape.

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The design is modular, easy to assemble and disassemble, with all plant materials staying in their containers. This means that all the material can be easily reused after the festival. The plants can be donated to nearby public green spaces and the wooden borders can be used by subsequent festival participants. 

Approximately 800 kg of carbon is captured in the biochar layer, which the creators have chosen to fill the soil in the "burnt" area of the project. This material can also be easily reused. 

The hedges come from a nursery specialising in "instant hedging". The nursery had a number of dead hedges on their property, which were used in the area of the design that represents the burnt landscape. The dead plants were scorched to create the illusion of burnt hedges. This reuse of waste gives it new life. 

All lighting in the garden is solar-powered. 

All plants are non-invasive and adapted to the local environment. 

No chemicals are used. 

The planting palette is made up of drought-resistant plants with a low water requirement.

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This episode is part of the Festival des Jardins 2023 series
Podcasts 06
Podcasts by Département des Alpes-Maritimes
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