11       frequently asked questions which season would you say is the most exciting one in a garden? spring and the opening of our garden festival in chaumont when the whole vegetation comes to life. your most beautiful experience in a garden? the exhibition „the discovery of wörlitz, the image of the ideal world in sachsen-anhalt”, a visit to the „hidcote manor“ garden in gloucestershire in the pouring rain and that night when i was locked in the “garden de mousse“ in kyoto. your favourite plant(s)? the peony but also plants of „bad taste“ such as the dahlia or the gladiolus. and of course the wild plants that we call weeds when i come across them … your favourite tree? the beech tree because it grows in freedom. growing roots dreaming, relaxing, finding ourselves – our garden often becomes a symbolic place of heavenly bliss and happiness. a short stay or glance into an appealing garden or park is enough to have extremely positive effects on our senses and to help us recharge our batteries. the garden is the gate to nature – and to ourselves. if you spend some time in the garden after a day full of stress and time pressure, you might as well think that you’ve ended up in your own personal “wide green yonder”. growing roots, being down-to-earth … here in the garden, between growing plants, bushes and trees there’s no need to optimize time management or to make the production flow more dynamic. nature has its very own laws that have grown for thousands of years, and just like for us people the same formula is valid for our gardens: you can only flourish and grow healthy if you feel good. plants have always influenced our lives and have had positive effects on our health and creativity. the indescribable atmosphere of gardens and parks makes us experience these wonderful moments whose origin we were never quite sure about. jean-paul pigeat, director of the international chaumont garden festival that has been held every year since 1992, is one of the most prominent experts on contemporary garden culture. in the following interview, he talks about the fascination, the stimulating atmosphere and the great significance of the garden. dear jean-paul pigeat, what do you think is it that until today has been fascinating people about gardens for centuries? when people try to design and shape a garden, they actually try to find and represent paradise. through their garden, people always try to create an image of the real world that they can control and where they can find themselves. people have always been fascinated by and passionate about gardens since the beginnings of civilized culture and i would say that’s not such a big surprise. what should a beautiful and appealing garden look like? i can’t really say what a beautiful and appealing garden should look like but i know what i expect from a garden. for me, a wonderful garden has a special mixture of plants, for instance including the senna shrub. when i stroll around the garden, i expect a lot of surprises. for my part, i never design a garden without creativity and humour. for me, a garden is rather a place of happiness than an object of representation. i’m really not such a big fan of these straight, almost unemotional french gardens. in our world full of technology and growing conurbations, people are increasingly longing for nature and “green” landscape. how do you think that the significance of gardens has changed over the last years and centuries? i think that gardens have gained much importance over the last couple of years. in my opinion, there have been two basic “movements”: the first movement consists of individual people with a great passion for flowers and plants. these plant-lovers make evermore exact choices and have become much more competent. their great love for gardens is shown at numerous gardening events where they get a very positive response. the second big garden movement becomes evident at public places: people want more freedom. they don’t just want a garden or park to stroll around, they also want to use the lawn to play, have picnics or rest on it, they want to “feel” nature. this freedom in dealing with one’s body has been one of the most important and significant elements in the evolution of gardens in the last 15 years. people long for straightness, reduction and minimalism in many areas of life. however, when it comes to gardens, they practice the exact opposite: the meadow of wild flowers blooms next to the compost heap, weeds grow next to the rosebushes. how would you explain this contradiction? i have quite a strange attitude towards the term „weeds“ – actually we have dedicated a whole festival to this expression (laughs). it’s our attitude towards nature that we have to change. why not put the question differently: what are the terrible rosebushes doing amidst the wonderful weeds …? would you say that the garden reflects the source and origin of all life? i would say that the garden indeed represents our origins, a kind of ancient paradise. you can also find this idea in arabic gardens where four water paths symbolize the four cardinal points at convergent or divergent position to the centre of the garden. another area where you can find this heavenly image is on many persian carpets where the garden is a symbolic place where people always feel happy. the garden, a place to indulge in reminiscences, to “lose“ oneself, to dream … would you say that the garden is something like a symbol of romance? i would rather say that the garden is a place where happiness is fulfilled. happiness is much stronger than a symbol because you have to bring it into reality yourself. many poets and artists draw from the creative powers of the garden. why do you think that gardens have always been a place of inspiration where you are “kissed by the muse”? the “muse’s kiss“ is what gardens are all about … helmut wolf