When: Every fourth Sunday in October
Duration of experience: 1 day
Location: Fontiers-Cabardès
Public : adults, children, dogs on leads
Fontiers-Cabardès, the village that invites you to celebrate plants
In Fontiers-Cabardès, the Festival des Plantes en Montagne Noire immerses you in a world where nature is experienced and shared.
The village promotes its surrounding vegetation, notably by obtaining the API Cité label and creating a heritage trail that allows visitors to discover both the architecture of Fontiers-Cabardès and a wide variety of plants. In line with this plant-focused approach, the Arts et Patrimoines de Fontiers association launched the Festival des plantes en Montagne Noire, which was held for the first time in 2021.
Every year, on the fourth Sunday in October, you can join this event, which attracts hundreds of plant and gardening enthusiasts. You will discover thousands of plants: aromatic, medicinal, outdoor perennials such as flowering hedges, fruit and forest trees, as well as varieties found in the Fontiers-Cabardès wetland area.
You will also find stands selling garden-related crafts, such as basketry and pottery. In short, everything you need to enhance your outdoor spaces and enjoy the plant festival in Fontier-Cabardès, one of the must-see events of autumn in the Montagne Noire.
At the Festival des plantes en Montagne Noire, your passion for gardening comes to life
As you stroll from stall to stall in a peaceful and serene atmosphere, you will discover a wide variety of plants suited to the diversity of the surrounding terroirs. Among these stalls, you may spot some perennials that you fall in love with and want to plant immediately. The choice of the festival date is carefully considered: autumn is the ideal time to plant trees, shrubs and perennial herbaceous plants. By planting them at this time of year, you allow your plants to focus all their energy on developing their root system during the winter, thus preparing them well for the intense heat of summer and even spring.
For each edition of the Festival des Plantes en Montagne Noire, around forty exhibitors—nursery growers, garden-related artisans such as basket weavers and potters, and producers—await you. The nursery growers come from all over the Occitanie region (Aude, Tarn-et-Garonne, Gers, etc.) and more broadly from the South-West of France, with representatives from the Hautes-Pyrénées, for example. Most of the stalls are set up on pedestrianised streets and are accessible to all, including people with motor disabilities. In addition, toilets are available in the community centre for people with reduced mobility. As you can see, in Fontiers-Cabardès, everyone shares a love of plants!
And if you don’t know much about plants yet, don’t worry: the nursery staff are all enthusiasts and will take the time to advise you on your choices and offer practical, tailored recommendations to help you succeed with your planting.
The Festival des plantes en Montagne Noire: a convivial outing to share
At the Festival des Plantes en Montagne Noire, not only will you meet passionate professionals who will show you beautiful plants, but you will also have a great time thanks to the various free activities that punctuate the day. Depending on the edition, you can attend conferences, take part in a photo competition (registration well in advance of the festival day) and then discover the photos presented in an exhibition, take part in a storytelling and costume walk about Pierre-Paul Riquet, try your luck in a tombola to win numerous gifts offered by the exhibitors, take part in a sensory walk or let yourself be guided through the surrounding wild marshlands.
For families, the festival is a pleasant outing. The festival area is pedestrianised and, as it is located in the heart of the village of Fontiers-Cabardès, you will find games for children and a wooded grove where you can run around or have a family picnic (lunch can be enjoyed under a marquee). Your faithful four-legged friends are welcome, but must be kept on a leash at all times.
Of course, to recharge your batteries and continue enjoying this lively day to the full, you will also find a food court with stalls run by local producers and food trucks. Here you can discover delicious local products from the Montagne Noire region, such as pork, cheese, honey and craft beer. The Arts et Patrimoines association stand will offer tastings, including slices of cake, vegetable soup and other dishes. And as the festival is committed to protecting the environment, there will be no plastic cutlery: please bring your own cutlery if possible.
You will leave this day with memories of delicious food, enriching encounters and a desire to return the following year to enjoy the festival’s warm atmosphere.
Fontiers-Cabardès, the village that invites you to celebrate plants
In Fontiers-Cabardès, the Festival des Plantes en Montagne Noire immerses you in a world where nature is experienced and shared.
The village promotes its surrounding vegetation, notably by obtaining the API Cité label and creating a heritage trail that allows visitors to discover both the architecture of Fontiers-Cabardès and a wide variety of plants. In line with this plant-focused approach, the Arts et Patrimoines de Fontiers association launched the Festival des plantes en Montagne Noire, which was held for the first time in 2021.
Every year, on the fourth Sunday in October, you can join this event, which attracts hundreds of plant and gardening enthusiasts. You will discover thousands of plants: aromatic, medicinal, outdoor perennials such as flowering hedges, fruit and forest trees, as well as varieties found in the Fontiers-Cabardès wetland area.
You will also find stands selling garden-related crafts, such as basketry and pottery. In short, everything you need to enhance your outdoor spaces and enjoy the plant festival in Fontier-Cabardès, one of the must-see events of autumn in the Montagne Noire.
At the Festival des plantes en Montagne Noire, your passion for gardening comes to life
As you stroll from stall to stall in a peaceful and serene atmosphere, you will discover a wide variety of plants suited to the diversity of the surrounding terroirs. Among these stalls, you may spot some perennials that you fall in love with and want to plant immediately. The choice of the festival date is carefully considered: autumn is the ideal time to plant trees, shrubs and perennial herbaceous plants. By planting them at this time of year, you allow your plants to focus all their energy on developing their root system during the winter, thus preparing them well for the intense heat of summer and even spring.
For each edition of the Festival des Plantes en Montagne Noire, around forty exhibitors—nursery growers, garden-related artisans such as basket weavers and potters, and producers—await you. The nursery growers come from all over the Occitanie region (Aude, Tarn-et-Garonne, Gers, etc.) and more broadly from the South-West of France, with representatives from the Hautes-Pyrénées, for example. Most of the stalls are set up on pedestrianised streets and are accessible to all, including people with motor disabilities. In addition, toilets are available in the community centre for people with reduced mobility. As you can see, in Fontiers-Cabardès, everyone shares a love of plants!
And if you don’t know much about plants yet, don’t worry: the nursery staff are all enthusiasts and will take the time to advise you on your choices and offer practical, tailored recommendations to help you succeed with your planting.
The Festival des plantes en Montagne Noire: a convivial outing to share
At the Festival des Plantes en Montagne Noire, not only will you meet passionate professionals who will show you beautiful plants, but you will also have a great time thanks to the various free activities that punctuate the day. Depending on the edition, you can attend conferences, take part in a photo competition (registration well in advance of the festival day) and then discover the photos presented in an exhibition, take part in a storytelling and costume walk about Pierre-Paul Riquet, try your luck in a tombola to win numerous gifts offered by the exhibitors, take part in a sensory walk or let yourself be guided through the surrounding wild marshlands.
For families, the festival is a pleasant outing. The festival area is pedestrianised and, as it is located in the heart of the village of Fontiers-Cabardès, you will find games for children and a wooded grove where you can run around or have a family picnic (lunch can be enjoyed under a marquee). Your faithful four-legged friends are welcome, but must be kept on a leash at all times.
Of course, to recharge your batteries and continue enjoying this lively day to the full, you will also find a food court with stalls run by local producers and food trucks. Here you can discover delicious local products from the Montagne Noire region, such as pork, cheese, honey and craft beer. The Arts et Patrimoines association stand will offer tastings, including slices of cake, vegetable soup and other dishes. And as the festival is committed to protecting the environment, there will be no plastic cutlery: please bring your own cutlery if possible.
You will leave this day with memories of delicious food, enriching encounters and a desire to return the following year to enjoy the festival’s warm atmosphere.
