Grande Fête du Jardin de Mézilles
Plant and garden festival on Ascension Day at Jardin Ribaudin in Mézilles en Puisaye
About Fête du Jardin de Mézilles
The Grande Fête du Jardin de Mézilles: the meeting place for plant lovers in Puisaye
Since 2004, every year on Ascension Day, the village of Mézilles (Yonne, Puisaye) transforms into a paradise for plants and gardens. The Grande Fête du Jardin, organized at the Jardin Ribaudin, in the heart of the village, has become one of the most anticipated green events in the Yonne and surrounding departments. Each year, it brings together nursery owners, horticulturists, producers of rare plants, and passionate amateurs in a friendly rural market atmosphere.
The Jardin Ribaudin: an exceptional setting for a plant festival
The Jardin Ribaudin, nestled in the heart of Mézilles village, provides an ideal setting for this plant gathering. This communal green space, surrounded by old stone houses, hosts exhibitor stands in a French garden atmosphere. The tree-lined alleys and shaded lawns create a bucolic and relaxing setting, conducive to strolling and discovering plants.
An exceptional plant market
The heart of the festival is its plant market, which offers an exceptional selection of plants:
- Rare perennial plants and old varieties not found in conventional garden centers
- Ornamental shrubs and old and modern roses
- Aromatic and medicinal plants: herbs, simples, fragrant plants
- Old vegetables and local vegetable seeds
- Aquatic plants for ponds and water features
- Climbing and ground cover plants
- Plant exchanges between amateur gardeners
Crafts and local products
In addition to plants, the festival features artisans whose creations are linked to nature and gardens: potters, basket weavers, wood sculptors, garden object designers, and birdhouse and tool makers. Local producers also offer jams, honeys, herbal teas, essential oils, and other local products from the Puisaye region. Tastings of Yonne wines and artisanal ciders complete the offerings.
Horse Festival in parallel
On the same day, the Mézilles Animation Committee organizes a horse festival in the village streets. A presentation competition for equines, with awards for the most beautiful horses, ponies, and donkeys, precedes a final parade in front of the church square in the late morning. This complementary event reinforces the rural and festive character of the day.
Concert-aperitif at the end of the day
The day ends with music at a concert-aperitif at 6 p.m., offered to all visitors. Over a glass of local wine or fruit juice, gardeners, visitors, and artisans gather to share the day's experiences in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere before returning to their gardens, laden with new plants.
Fête du Jardin de Mézilles — edition 2026
The 23rd edition of the Grande Fête du Jardin de Mézilles was held on Thursday, May 14, 2026, Ascension Day, at Jardin Ribaudin. From 9 AM to 6 PM, nurserymen, horticulturists, and passionate enthusiasts gathered for this large plant market in Puisaye, accompanied by the Horse Festival in the village streets and concluded by the traditional aperitif-concert animated by the group « Les années 60 ».
Grande Fête du Jardin 2026 in Mézilles — the 23rd edition
On Thursday, May 14, 2026, Ascension Day, the Jardin Ribaudin in Mézilles hosted the 23rd edition of the Grande Fête du Jardin, from 9 AM to 6 PM. As every year since 2004, the Comité d'Animation de Mézilles transformed the heart of the village into a large plant market open to all.
A plant market and an exchange between gardeners
Nurserymen, horticulturists, market gardeners, and enthusiasts set up their stands in the alleys of Jardin Ribaudin: perennial plants, old roses, aromatics, heirloom vegetables, aquatic plants for ponds and basins, climbing plants. A plant exchange also allowed amateur gardeners to swap their own plants and cuttings.
Crafts and local products
In parallel with the plants, the market offered garden equipment and crafts related to nature and gardens, as well as gourmet local products from Puisaye.
The Horse Festival in parallel
In the village streets, the Comité d'Animation de Mézilles simultaneously organized the traditional Horse Festival: equestrian presentation competition with prize giving, pony rides for children, and a final parade on the church square at the end of the morning.
The closing aperitif-concert
At 6 PM, the day ended with the traditional aperitif-concert animated by the group « Les années 60 », in a relaxed atmosphere bringing together exhibitors, gardeners, and visitors around a drink before the bargain hunters returned with their new plants.
Programme Fête du Jardin de Mézilles 2026
Thursday, May 14, 2026 (Ascension Day)
- 9 AM – 6 PM — Opening of the plant market at Jardin Ribaudin: nurserymen, horticulturists, perennials, roses, aromatics, heirloom vegetables, aquatic plants
- 9 AM – 6 PM — Plant exchange between amateur gardeners
- 9 AM – 6 PM — "Nature and garden" craft stands and gourmet local products from Puisaye
- Morning — Horse Festival in the village streets: equestrian presentation competition, pony rides
- Late morning — Prize giving for the equestrian competition and final parade on the church square
- 6 PM — Closing aperitif-concert animated by the group « Les années 60 »
Highlights Fête du Jardin de Mézilles 2026
- 23rd edition organized on Ascension Day
- Reference plant market in Puisaye since 2004
- Plant exchange between amateur gardeners
- Simultaneous Horse Festival in the village streets
- Aperitif-concert with the group « Les années 60 » at 6 PM
- Free admission
Prices Fête du Jardin de Mézilles 2026
Practical information — Fête du Jardin de Mézilles
Access
Location: Jardin Ribaudin, in the heart of the village of Mézilles (89130), Yonne, Puisaye-Forterre.
By car: Mézilles is located approximately 35 km southwest of Auxerre. From Auxerre, take the D965 towards Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye, then the D7 towards Mézilles.
Parking: free parking on site and in the village streets.
Hours
From 9 AM to 6 PM. Aperitif-concert at the end of the day at 6 PM on the esplanade.
Prices
Free admission. Food and drink stalls on site run by local associations and the animation committee.
Good to know
Bring sturdy boxes or bags to transport purchased plants. Cash recommended for small exhibitors. The Horse Festival simultaneously enlivens the village streets: equestrian presentation competition, pony rides, and a final parade on the church square.
Contact
Official website: www.mezilles.net/fetejardin.php
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 06 36 66 86 03
Facebook: Comité d'Animation de Mézilles (CAM)
Puisaye-Forterre Tourist Office: www.puisaye-tourisme.fr
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Where does it take place — Fête du Jardin de Mézilles
Jardin Ribaudin de Mézilles
Jardin Ribaudin, 89130 Mézilles