Public Prize Award – Friday 2 October 2026, 12 noon, at the Jardins d’Aywiers
The jury’s verdict will be announced on Friday 2 October 2026 at 12 noon, at the opening of the 69th Fête des Plantes et du Jardin at Aywiers (Abbaye d’Aywiers, rue de l’Abbaye 16, 1380 Lasne, Belgium). The three finalists chosen by the public: Créer son jardin résilient (Didier Willery, Éd. Ulmer), Toutes les saveurs du jardin (Pascal Garbe, Éd. Ulmer) and Inventer le jardin (Gilles Clément & Monique Mosser, Éd. du Seuil).
Press release
Comité René Pechère & Les Jardins d’Aywiers — Brussels, 24 September 2026 (in French).
In the press: La Libre Belgique
“Jardins exquis”, a tribute to René Pechère by Raoul Buyle, with a feature on the Public Prize at the Jardins d’Aywiers — La Libre Belgique, weekend supplement, 26–27 September 2026. Click on the image to enlarge it.
The Prix Littéraire René Pechère honours, every two years, a remarkable work on gardens, landscapes and nature, in tribute to one of Belgium’s greatest landscape architects, René Pechère. Created by the Comité René Pechère to celebrate literature in the service of the art of gardens and nature, it shines a light on authors passionate about these themes. For the first time this year, the Comité René Pechère is organising, alongside the Literary Prize, the Public Prize.
On the occasion of the spring edition of the Jardins d’Aywiers, in May 2026, the Comité René Pechère presented a selection of 10 works for the Public Prize. For this very first time, it was YOU who designated the 3 finalists of the Public Prize.
The books were available on site at the Jardins d’Aywiers for free consultation, so that everyone could discover them, leaf through them and find a favourite during their visit. These 10 works had been chosen by a selection committee in February 2026.
The public vote
Voting closed on Sunday 3 May 2026 at 12 noon, at the end of the spring festival at the Jardins d’Aywiers. The Comité René Pechère warmly thanks everyone who took part.
The three finalists were announced in May 2026; it is now for the jury of the Public Prize to decide the 2026 rankings, which will be proclaimed on Friday 2 October 2026, during the autumn festival at the Jardins d’Aywiers.
The Comité René Pechère is delighted to share with you this new literary dimension of the event, which celebrates the beauty of gardens through words as much as through landscapes.
Agenda
The 2026 Public Prize follows the following calendar:
February 2026: selection of the 10 nominated works
March 2026: launch of the public vote online
3 May 2026 at noon: close of voting, at the end of the spring festival
May 2026: announcement of the three finalists
September 2026: jury deliberation of the Public Prize at Aywiers
2 October 2026: official award of the Public Prize at the autumn festival of the Jardins d’Aywiers
Selection Committee
The 10 works submitted to the public vote were selected in February 2026 by the Public Prize selection committee, composed of members of the Comité René Pechère and partners passionate about garden and landscape literature.
Our Partners
The Public Prize – Prix Littéraire René Pechère 2026 is made possible thanks to the support of our partners:
Jardins d’Aywiers
Venue for the spring and autumn events of the Public Prize.
www.aywiers.be
À Livre Ouvert
Partner bookshop specialising in books on gardens, nature and landscape.
alivreouvert.be
Trésors de Bruxelles
VIP partner platform for the dissemination of the Prix René Pechère.
tresorsdebruxelles.be
Le Vostre srl
Landscape architecture practice, organising partner of the Comité René Pechère.
www.levostre.be