In 2025, the European Garden Meetings will be held on Friday 6, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June and will focus on the theme "Stone gardens - garden stones".

This theme will take us to Chinese gardens, where standing stones played, and still play, an important role. The imaginary world of Asian stone gardens continues to infuse dry gardens in Japan and many other gardens around the world. These Far Eastern "standing stones" had a fundamental influence on the fashion for rocks in picturesque gardens in the 18th century. Just as ruins (false ruins) had their moment of glory in these same gardens throughout Europe, not forgetting caves.

As gardens of eternity, cemeteries give pride of place to minerals. Stone is also present in our gardens through statuary and furniture.

Rockwork, also known as rustication, is an ancient technique involving the use of cement, and more recently concrete, to create structures or objects imitating wood. Very much in vogue in the second half of the 19th century, thanks to the fashion for rock gardens and mountain landscapes, artificial cement became the emblematic material of French know-how, used in Alphand's Parisian parks and at world's fairs.

The colors of sand and gravel for pathways and floors, calades and the reuse of quarries also evoke the mineral in gardens. Stone can also play a technical role, allowing water to circulate, for drainage or ornamental purposes.

As in previous years, a study day to prepare this new theme was held on Wednesday 12 February 2025 in Paris (Institut national du patrimoine)

This event addressed to all the organisers (national, regional and European) aims to study the multiple possibilities offered by the theme chosen for 2025.

Taking place in French language only, the programme of this day is avalaible here and you can also follow it in replay through the following links:

                          Morning session (9h30 - 12h45)              Afternoon session (14h30 - 17h)