The landscape is not frozen in time. Neither are the avenues. They change with the seasons. They grow and age. They are buffeted by strong winds and attacked by disease and pests. They lose trees and welcome new ones.

We want these transformations to remain in our memories. That is why, this year, we are launching an ‘artistic observatory’ of an avenue: artists such as Constance Fulda (France), Wayne Gudmundson (United States) and Dan Llewelyn Hall (Great Britain) are invited to keep, in their own way, a record of the now ‘historic’ avenue of Trampot. Read our section ‘Artistic Observatory 2020’ to know more.

Our executive director was invited to talk about tree avenues at a conference organised by the Wallonia Public Service and Hainaut Développement. This was a further opportunity to explain the benefits of tree avenues to an audience of around 500 participants. Click on the image to read the text of her presentation (in French). It focuses on beauty, biodiversity, road safety and management.

That's it, the exhibition panels have been taken down. They have been packed away in boxes, safely stored, ready for new exhibition destinations. Contact us if you would like to host them!

The exhibition ‘Tree avenues – from war to peace’ is on display at Parc de la Pépinière in Nancy until 16 November.

It provides an overview of the history of tree avenues from the 15th century to the present day, with the First World War as a turning point.

The exhibition highlights the fascination exerted by tree-avenues, the differences in ‘landscape culture’ between countries, and France's role in the development of this particular landscape feature. The memorial avenues planted in the British Empire, the United States and Italy also demonstrate the potential of avenues to create links between places and between people. This is still true today, and the last panels are devoted to the ‘modernity’ of avenues in the face of contemporary challenges.

Richly illustrated with archival documents and contemporary images, the exhibition takes us throughout Europe, but also to Mexico, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.

The 14 panels of the exhibition are fixed to the on the gates along the upper avenue of the Parc de la Pépinière. This avenue of lime and chestnut trees was laid out as a promenade on the former bastions of the city in the 18th century and renovated in the 19th century. It bordered the nursery intended for roadside plantings.

This perfect location reminds us that avenues are at the junction between roads and gardens, and between utility and pleasure.