Fête des Plantes d'Ainay-le-Vieil

A plant festival at the castle

The Fête des Plantes d'Ainay-le-Vieil takes place each year in early October in the high court of the Château d'Ainay-le-Vieil, a 12th-century medieval fortress nicknamed the “little Carcassonne of Berry”. Organized by the association Les Jardins de La Loubière, this horticultural event brings together gardening enthusiasts, botany lovers, and families for two days in an exceptional heritage setting.

Over 70 passionate exhibitors

The festival brings together over seventy exhibitors – nursery owners, horticulturists, perennial plant producers, shrub and rare flower specialists. These professionals and enthusiasts offer a wide selection of plants suitable for Berry gardens: hardy perennial plants, ornamental shrubs, old roses, aromatic plants, vegetable plants, and seeds.

Visitors receive personalized advice on choosing plants, their cultivation, maintenance, and adaptation to different soil types and exposures. This dimension of sharing and transmission makes the festival a privileged moment for exchanges between amateur and professional gardeners.

Activities and conferences

Beyond the commercial aspect, the Fête des Plantes offers a program of activities for young and old: creative workshops, board games, biodiversity awareness activities. Thematic conferences are organized on various topics such as the discovery of secret mushrooms, ecological gardening, or cultivation techniques adapted to the Berry climate.

Visit the castle gardens

Admission to the Fête des Plantes (flat rate of €2) also grants access to the gardens of the Château d'Ainay-le-Vieil, labeled “Remarkable Garden”. Visitors can thus discover the French formal garden, the cloister garden, the Island garden, and the Chartreuse garden, true green havens surrounding the medieval fortress.

A raffle to benefit the association

Each entrance ticket gives the right to participate in the exhibitors' prize draw, allowing visitors to leave with plants offered by the present producers. This raffle contributes to the friendly atmosphere of the festival and supports the actions of the association Les Jardins de La Loubière.