Veil Garden

Veil Garden

The International Garden Festival, set on the site of Les Jardins de Metis in Quebec, Canada, is recognized as one of the most important events of its kind in North America and one of the two leading annual garden festivals in the world. The Veil Garden, designed in response to the proposed theme of “Paradise”, was selected to be exhibited and was opened to the public on 26 June 2010. Rooted in Ancient Mesopotamia, the Paradise Garden serves as one of the fundamental original garden typologies from which most modern gardens derive. Enclosed and arranged in an archetypal quadripartite pattern, these gardens reflect the image of an earthly horticultural delight. While the underlying geometric form has remained relatively consistent for 2,500 years, the embedded symbolism and functionality has evolved in response to geography and culture.

Using a palette of frost fence walls, plantings and common yard ornaments, the garden explores the idea of paradise through varied cultures and economies while retaining the allegory inherent to the ancient gardens. The enclosed compositions of kitsch yard objects alongside plant species each with adaptive features relating to the four classical elements, are intended to produce an affect that is equally private, personal and mass-produced.

Installation