FYJA, Flower and Garden Festival

Patricia Elías Calles invites us to learn about the FYJA Festival of Flowers and Gardens, which promotes landscape design and conscious gardening in Mexico.

FYJA is the only festival of flowers and gardens of its kind currently taking place in Mexico.

Our country has a long tradition of floral festivals, and we celebrate it at the festival. This year, the event will take place on April 26th, 27th, and 28th at Jardines del Campo Marte, Mexico City – “Festival in the Field,” and on April 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th in Polanco – “Polanco in Bloom.” The main theme of this year is “Garden of Amazing Beings.”

Festival in the Field is the first edition to be held in the gardens of Campo Marte, where there will be multiple activities related to landscape design, gardening, floral design, and environmental education. Since its first edition, the FYJA Festival focuses on promoting the value of landscape design through garden rehabilitation and the creation of spaces that invite us to rethink and, in this sense, activate and give new shapes to our relationship with nature.

Festival FYJA 2017 Jardín Botánico
Fotografía / Photography: Rafael Gamo, Jaime Navarro

This new edition aims to promote landscape design and a way of gardening that is conscious of our environment, seeking to beautify spaces while caring for the diversity and health of local ecosystems. The gardens at the festival, created by various Mexican landscapers, will focus on sustainable practices such as the use of native plants, rainwater harvesting systems, and gardening techniques that promote biodiversity and help address climate change.

Detalle en Festival FYJA 2018
Fotografìa / Photography: Christian Salvatierra

“Through the diverse gardens, talks, and workshops, visitors will have the opportunity to learn about sustainable practices, both for gardening and floral design.”

This new edition aims to promote landscape design and a form of gardening that is conscious of our environment, seeking to beautify spaces while caring for the diversity and health of local ecosystems. The gardens at the festival, created by various Mexican landscapers, will focus on sustainable practices such as the use of native plants, rainwater harvesting systems, and gardening techniques that promote biodiversity and help address climate change.

Through the diverse gardens, talks, and workshops, visitors will have the opportunity to learn about these sustainable practices, both for gardening and floral design. They will also learn how gardens can adapt to climate change through plant selection and landscape design, and how to care for indoor plants. Additionally, they will learn about composting projects and the wonder of fungi, among other topics.

Patricia Elías Calles, founder, director, and organizer of the wonderful event, tells us:

“I have always been in contact with gardens and flowers. My mother is a member of the Circle of the Flower, and since I was a child, she took us to the exhibitions of her club and the Mexican Federation of Gardening and Floral Arrangement. I also owe my love for gardens, flowers, and plants to my paternal grandmother, Elena Álvarez Morphy, who in the 1950s became a self-taught landscaper and eventually went to study a landscaping course in Los Angeles, California. She dedicated the rest of her life to making gardens. She worked on private works, hotels, and public spaces in Mexico City and Cuernavaca. In addition to my mother and grandmother, in 2011, I had the opportunity to attend the Chelsea Flower Show in London. Although at that time I was not involved in anything related to flowers and gardening, this experience changed my professional destiny. It was from this visit that I decided to organize a festival like this, of flowers and gardens in Mexico.”

Exposición Arcos Florales en Parque América
Fotografìa / Photography: Christian Salvatierra

One of the main objectives that the founder of FYJA would like to achieve is for visitors to learn that flowers, plants, and gardens are indispensable for life. Gardens must be created, preserved, and cared for because of all the benefits they provide. From the physical and mental well-being of people to the conservation of all living beings that form, live, and benefit from a garden, regardless of its size. These beings are key to ecological balance and our survival.

To learn more, visit: https://fyja.mx