Every year, the world's most innovative garden and landscape designers are invited to the grounds of Chaumont, the famous chateau in the Loire Valley some 125 miles from Paris. Here they create an array of brilliant new gardens, which are on display from May through the summer. The varied and contrasting choice of gardens is arranged by themes which: explore global influences; the specific role of plants; outdoor art; representing time and change; the rapport between gardens and landscapes; and creations of wit and whimsy. In this book, commentaries explore the themes behind the gardens, their impact on designers and the public's reaction to and interaction with these experimental ideas. Plant lists and plans provide practical support for those interested in adapting the ideas or re-creating their own gardens. This volume includes works by an international selection of rising designers from Japan to the Netherlands, as well as world-famous artists such as Louis Benech, Judy and David Drew, Lynden B. Miller, Fernando Caruncho, Peter Latz, Adriaan Geuze and the Italian Land I Agency.