2011 edition - Gardens of the future or the art of happy biodiversity

23. Le pollen exubérant

published at 08/11/2017

"Le pollen exubérant", Festival des Jardins 2011 - © E. Sander

On the importance of pollen ...

To imagine the future of gardens, we inevitably turn towards their past. Our crops, which not long ago were rich and varied, were rooted in the infinite diversity of gardens. This is where the home of food and survival is to be found: not only ours, but also that of hundreds, perhaps millions, of creatures whose lives are intertwined with our own incredibly complex models. Contemporary agriculture tends towards the standardisation and reduction of plant species. This garden proposes an exploration of the heritage of anemophilous gardens.

It highlights the movement from the past into the future, the stratification of history, the relentless work and the happy accidents. Far from being monotonous cultivation, the garden of pollens and seeds is an expression of the polymorphous nature of the gene and its infinite possibilities. The heritage seeds joyfully mix with new hybrid companions and insectivorous plants, which creates possibilities and living spaces for all sorts of fauna. Pollen, which encapsulates the history of each plant and its ancestors, rides the wind to create a new mosaic and new life combinations.

designers

SOLA -Yekaterina YUSHMANOVA, landscape architect and Ruth CURREY, landscape designer-

USA & CANADA

From left to right: Yekaterina Yushmanova and Ruth Currey

SOLA is a new collaboration between two emerging professional designers. Fired with a passion for bringing context into contemporary landscapes, the team’s design focus is to create places that incorporate familiar and elemental materials in ways that are innovative and which evoke curiosity, wonder and contemplation. Combining award-winning design skills and grounded experience in management and client relations, the members of SOLA look forward to contributing to the field of sustainable landscape design.

Yekaterina Yushmanova is a graduate of the University of New Mexico with a degree in Landscape Architecture. Born and raised in Siberia, she has a background in art and fashion history and photography. Her recent accomplishments include awards in landscape design and planning from American Society of Landscape Architects, the Wayne Grace Foundation, the JSR Foundation and the Emerging Architects of New York. She has participated in installations and exhibitions in New Mexico and California, USA. Her design interests focus on the interaction between aesthetics and sustainability.

An artist and designer, Ruth Currey is a graduate of the University of New Mexico with a degree in Landscape Architecture. Her background is in drawing, painting and sculpture. She has recently been a participant in an installation in a New Mexico gallery. Having been born and raised in northern climates she is interested in the effects and play of light on and through surfaces.

designers

THE GARDEN'S PLANTS