The International Garden Festival has begun in Quebec’s Redford Gardens, with six award-winning garden installations open to the public for the first time.

The projects – which were chosen ahead of 156 rival submissions in a special competition to be included in the 18th edition of the festival – are displayed alongside a number of other commissioned gardens created by more than 70 architects and landscape designers from various disciplines.

For the contest, the jury called for garden designs that “re-think play and take part in the global discussion over nature-deficit disorder.” This year’s event is intended to inspire young people to see outdoor play as “just as interesting, if not more fun,” than on-screen amusement.

The International Garden Festival is the leading event of its type in North America. Since its inception in 2000, more than 160 gardens have been exhibited at the city’s Redford Gardens, on the banks of the St Lawrence River.

La Chrysalide by landscape architects Gabriel Lacombe and Virginie Roy-Mazoyer

“An invitation to take a break in time, between childhood and adulthood, to climb into the tree, make a nest and lay there to dream.”

Paysage euphonique by MANI

Architect Claudia Campeau and designer Maud Benech

“A set of giant play facilities creates a tension in our rapport with the landscape and forces us to see and hear nature differently.”

Soundcloud by architects Johanna Ballhaus and Helen Wyss

“Bells attached to the ends of metal rods create the illusion of mist and clouds where a dialogue with nature begins and where stories can be told.”

HAIKU by architects Francisco A. Garcia Pérez and Alessandra Vignotto

“A lonely swing in the forest, a flooded path, a motionless stone. Everything is in place to appreciate the cycle of the forest life.”