GARDEN LAB N°8 WATER: GAMES AND CHALLENGES

Water is the blood of the earth and the soul of gardens", writes landscaper René Pechère in the grammar of gardens: secrets of the trades. In fact, the art of gardens is inseparable from the staging of this living element. Water acts on all our senses, sometimes as a mirror, sometimes in movement, sometimes as a murmur... Each of its states inspires landscapers to create basins, ponds, fountains, waterfalls, noiras, canals and other hydraulic structures. It shapes landscapes, fascinates man, even purifies him in the art of the Japanese garden. It is established as an art of living in Islamic and Arab-Andalusian gardens. Beyond its theatricalization, water in the garden is also a source of biodiversity - wetlands, now protected, contribute to purifying water through phytoremediation. But it is clear that climate change is accompanied by a water distribution that fluctuates at the same rate increasingly violent storms. How then can we think about rain gardens that adapt the human inhabitant to these developments? Welcome to the street that explores the gardens of tomorrow. Summary: DESIGN p.16 - SPACES & WATER A private garden and an experimental madness demonstrate that water gives birth to life, above all. p.32 - GARDEN SCENES A visit to an aquatic plant specialist inspires three garden scenes imagined by landscapers. p.48 - PRIVATE VISIT in Courances, nature flows naturally. INFLUENCES p.64 - GAMES AND CHALLENGES A brief history of the link between water, gardens and our way of inhabiting the world. p.80 - CROSSING PATHS She explores new approaches to water management. Meeting with designer Isabelle Daëron. p.80 - BEHIND THE SCENES How a landscaper revisits an agricultural tradition in a pleasure garden EXPLORERS p.92 - ONCE UPON A TIME... The story of the Moulin Jaune, a garden-theater that is constantly reinventing itself around life, art and nature. p.108 - CONVERSATION Parks are shaping the new hearts of cities for landscaper Jacqueline Osty. p.116 - A GARDENER'S DIARY Creating a water feature in the garden means acting for nature and biodiversity. Let's go! ELSEWHERE p.132 - THEMA Willow and man, a chronicle on ancestral ties. p.144 - IDEAS FACTORY Slate, a return to grace in the garden. p.160 - WIDE ANGLE A tale of a thousand and one waters. p.170 - GOOD WAY Water leaves its mark on landscapes even in its absence!