16. L’Épopée du Haricot Magique

Valentine Bouchaux grew up in Val-de-Marne, at the heart of city life driven by the hustle and bustle of the Paris region. However, every summer she found refuge in Cévennes, where her grandparents live. There, she discovered nature between days spent in their garden or in the wild Cévennes landscapes that marked her childhood. During this time, she also practised ice dancing at a national level for 14 years. This demanding discipline led her to travel across France for competitions, giving her the opportunity to discover the diversity of the French landscape. Although her passion for plants was not immediately obvious, these experiences gave her a lasting connection with the beauty of nature. After obtaining a general scientific baccalaureate, she discovered the Institut Agro Rennes-Angers. Attracted by the specialisations on offer, she began a course in horticulture and landscaping. During her five years of study, she undertook a number of internships in botanical gardens and design offices. These enriching experiences strengthened her conviction to work with plants, confirming the path she had chosen. In the first year of her Master's degree, she spent a semester studying at the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences in Poland, which allowed her to explore a new vision of landscaping and broaden her professional horizons. Always keen to take on new projects, she could not pass up the opportunity to take part in the Chaumont-sur-Loire International Garden Festival in her final year. She embarked on the collective adventure with great enthusiasm, drawing on all the skills and inspiration she had acquired throughout her career. Now, she thrives in a field where she can combine her passion for plants, her respect for biodiversity and her love of creative, collaborative projects.

Lisa Even grew up in Nantes, in the heart of the Loire-Atlantique region, where she appreciated the importance of green spaces in the urban landscape. However, it was in the forest, when staying with her grandparents, that she spent her summers building huts and exploring nature, developing a sensitivity for her environment. From an early age, she cultivated a passion for artistic and manual activities, designing and creating with imagination. Although the plant world was not yet an obvious choice for her career path, her creativity and interest in design naturally led her to combine these two worlds. After completing her scientific baccalaureate, she went on to study for a BTSA vocational qualification in landscaping at the Lycée Jules Rieffel in Nantes. This enriching course was supplemented by work placements in design offices, allowing her to discover the basics of the profession and confirming her interest in creating landscaped areas. To broaden her knowledge, she enrolled at Institut Agro through an apprenticeship in a design office, where she has worked for the past three years. This path gave her the opportunity to consolidate her skills and combine theory and practice through a variety of real-life projects. In her final year, she set herself an ambitious goal: to take part in the Chaumont-sur-Loire International Garden Festival. She is delighted to be taking on this challenge, which will offer her a chance to put her skills to good use, work as part of a team and continue to learn. Through this garden, she hopes to offer visitors an immersive and poetic experience, transporting them to a world where nature and imagination intertwine.

Théo Lespielle's story began in Bayonne, where he discovered his passion for drawing at an early age. This passion allowed him to interpret the nature around him and to cultivate his imagination. At the age of 6, he took his first drawing lessons, learning the basics that would structure his artistic career. He continued his amateur training at the École Supérieure d'Art du Pays Basque, where he developed his creativity, honed his vision and exhibited his work for the first time. After high school, Théo opted for scientific studies in a preparatory class, a choice that meant he was able to enrol at Institut Agro in 2021. Landscape design was an obvious choice: it gave him the opportunity to combine his passion for drawing, his interest in nature and living things, and his desire to tell stories through visual and spatial works. His studies were enriched by an exchange at the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning (FADU) in Buenos Aires and a six-month design internship, where he broadened and refined his skills as a landscape designer. He also works as an illustrator, creating children's books and event posters, combining storytelling and artistic sensibility. The Chaumont-sur-Loire International Garden Festival represents an exceptional opportunity for him to tell a new life-size story, inviting visitors to journey into a dreamlike universe that he has helped imagine and shape.

From a young age, Timothée Michelet has had a deep and instinctive connection with nature. As a child, he learnt the manual skills passed down by his father, gradually forging a unique sensitivity to the landscapes surrounding him. This deep connection with the living world naturally led him to study landscape engineering at Institut Agro Angers, where he combined rigorous design with controlled creativity. Entrepreneurship was an obvious next step. In 2022, he founded his own company, a natural extension of his vision of landscapes, through which he designs landscaping while considering current environmental issues. His rigour and ability to propose innovative projects were recognised in May 2023, when he was awarded 2nd place in the Jeune Créateur competition at the Floralies Internationales. Timothée has also made a name for himself in creating ephemeral projects, an area he is particularly fond of. Through exhibitions and temporary installations, he explores compositions that combine finesse, technique and formal elegance, offering immersive experiences adapted to places and audiences. He is curious and open to the world, constantly enriching his approach through his many trips and encounters around the world. His work is characterised by precise, thoughtful design, harmoniously balancing aesthetics and functionality. The Chaumont-sur-Loire International Garden Festival is the ideal place for him to express his vision of the landscape: a structured, living space, designed with exacting standards and subtlety, where every intervention enhances the dialogue between nature and creation.