Chasse Aux Fleurs

Emmerik has been invited to participate in the 2019 garden festival at the Hortillonnages in Amiens.

Landscapes are forever changing, it is their nature. Over time the production landscape of the Hortillonnages changed into an archipelago of pleasure gardens where every gardener is creating a private paradise. Rows of leeks, cabbages and carrots are replaced by ornamental trees, plaster statues and colourful flowers. 

Meanwhile, spread around the Hortillonnages, hunters are patiently waiting for waterfowl. They have covered their hunting cabins with a camouflage of branches, leafs and erratic patterns to make them blend in with the surrounding landscape. 

But does this camouflage still function if the landscape has changed so much? Won’t this type of camouflage stand out between all those colourful flowers, paradoxically revealing the cabins instead of hiding them?  

Chasse aux Fleurs proposes an updated camouflage which can satisfy the pleasure gardeners ánd hide the hunters. The garden is constructed with colourful annuals, referring in its organisation and planting scheme to a camouflage pattern. The hunting cabin, overlooking the water, is completely covered in annuals.

Chasse aux Fleurs combines the act of hunting with the perceived sweetness and innocence of the annual flower. With this contemporary camouflage, Chasse aux Fleurs addresses the changing landscape of the Hortillonnages and the delicate balance between its users. 

The festival will open on 8th of June 2019 and close on the 20th of October.

contractor Paul Casteleijn Hoveniers

annuals Blooming Business

green wall system Universal Greenfields