PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release


Grand-Métis, October 12, 2010. Les Jardins de Métis and Hydro-Québec are pleased to announce that the winner of the grand prize in the contest held for visitors to the Gardens is Carole Morin from Pierrefonds, Québec - a weekend for two at the Hydro-Québec’s La Grande complex on James Bay in northern Québec, a value of $ 4,000. The prize offered by Hydro-Québec is part of the ongoing collaboration between Hydro-Québec and Les Jardins de Métis that began in 1999. Hydro-Québec was the lead sponsor of the 11th edition of the International Garden Festival.

Four visitors were awarded copies of the Répertoire des arbres et arbustes ornementaux, a publication that profiles the 1,760 species and varieties of plants in Quebec. The winners are: Pascale Choquette from Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Natasha Sanson from Greenfield Park, Claudette Fecteau from Lévis and Janie Rioux from Saint-Jean-de-Dieu.

The 2010 contest is part of the partnership between the gardens and Hydro-Québec and the Hydro-Québec program to promote The Right Tree in the Right Place, which aims to inform the public about choosing trees to minimize their impact on the security of the power grid. The Festival presented the Right Tree in the Right Place garden designed by Montréal’s NIPpaysage. The 2010 version of their garden, Être aux oiseaux (or “with the birds”), offered visitors an opportunity to clamber onto to an oversized picnic table surrounded by birds clipped to wires that traverse a forest of mature trees.

The 12th edition of the International Garden Festival will be held from June 25 to October 2, 2011 with the theme "Secret Gardens."  The call for proposals will close on November 12, 2010. For complete terms, visit the website of the Reford Gardens at www.refordgardens.com.

Partners of the International Garden Festival

The annual International Garden Festival is made possible by the support of La Fondation de Jardins de Métis, a non-profit organization whose mission is the development, the education and interpretation of contemporary art in the field of garden art. The event is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Canadian Heritage, Economic Development Canada, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and Tourisme Québec. The sponsors of the 11th edition were: Atlantis, Ferme J.-L. Drapeau, Glendyne Inc., IGA Alimentation de La Mitis, Pépinière Charlevoix and Premier Horticulture. Collaborators gardens extramural were: Canada Blooms, Musée du Château Ramezay, Ville de Montréal, Société de développement commercial du Vieux-Montréal, Arrondissement Ville-Marie and City of Calgary.

About the Reford Gardens

The Reford Gardens are located on the shores of the St. Lawrence and Mitis rivers in Québec, Canada. Created by avid gardener and plant collector, Elsie Reford, the gardens were declared a national historic site in 1995 by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. They are considered one of the premier gardens in North America and an obligatory stop for all those visiting eastern Québec.

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Source

Alexander Reford, directeur
Jardins de Métis / Festival international de jardins
Tél. : 418 775-2222, poste 222
alexander.reford@jardinsdemetis.com