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Garden designer or landscaping company: who does what?

Landscape architect, garden designer, landscaping company: the names look alike, but they don’t describe the same trades. Here is who does what, and who to entrust your garden to.

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Small terrace with green chairs and potted plants

Landscape architect

“Landscape architect” (« architecte paysagiste ») is the usual name for the trade of designing gardens and outdoor spaces, in France as internationally. It corresponds to no official title. It must not be confused with the title of architect registered with the Ordre des architectes, protected by law no. 77-2 of 3 January 1977, which requires a state degree in architecture. Florence Merrien practises this design trade under her exact title: garden designer and creator in the landscape, a graduate of the École nationale supérieure de paysage.

Garden designer and creator in the landscape

This is Florence Merrien’s title. She is a graduate of the École nationale supérieure de paysage in Versailles, in “Concepteur et créateur de jardin dans le paysage”, a level 6 qualification registered with the RNCP (listing 17222, now 39849). She designs the project, draws the plans, chooses the plants, helps you compare the contractors’ quotes and supervises the works.

Landscaping company

It carries out the works: earthworks, masonry, planting, irrigation, maintenance. FLAURE designs your project and supervises the works, which our partner companies carry out on their own quotes.

Frequently asked questions

Why call on a landscape architect rather than a gardening company?

Because designing and building are two trades. The designer draws a complete project, in keeping with your house, the way you live and the landscape, chooses plants suited to the soil and the climate, helps you compare quotes and supervises the works. Independent of the contractors, they champion your project rather than a volume of works to sell.

A gardening company remains the right contact for maintenance or simple works. Many also offer design as part of their service: practical, but the project is then tied to a single provider. At FLAURE, we design your garden and supervise the works, which our partner companies carry out on their own quotes.

What is the difference between a landscape architect and a garden designer?

None in the work itself: both design gardens and outdoor spaces. “Landscape architect” is the usual name for the trade, while “garden designer and creator in the landscape” is the official title of the École nationale supérieure de paysage degree that Florence Merrien holds. Neither refers to an architect registered with the Ordre des architectes.

Are the garden design trades regulated?

The title of architect registered with the Ordre is protected by the 1977 law and reserved for holders of a state degree in architecture. Some landscape titles are also protected, by the law of 8 August 2016 and its implementing decree. The name “landscape architect” and the trade of garden design are not regulated in themselves: it is the degree and the projects that make the expertise. Florence Merrien is a graduate of the École nationale supérieure de paysage in Versailles.

What our clients say

Justine

The FLAURE agency created our garden last year. We are very pleased with the result and enjoy watching our garden grow. The agency was highly competent and always available, and met our needs and wishes while bringing fresh ideas. You can trust them! Thank you again.

Brigitte

I am very satisfied with the FLAURE agency’s work. (…) The proposal took into account the north, north-east and south-east exposures, to suggest suitable plants, as well as the constraints (co-ownership rules, a concrete slab, etc.). The idea of a journey through the garden that echoes our interior decoration is spot on. Finding landscapers and metalworkers for a flower dome let us save money by staying local, with adjusted quotes. Supervision of the works allowed the final corrections to be made and as much of the existing garden as possible to be saved. I can’t wait for spring to see it all in bloom!

Carine

I called on the FLAURE agency after buying a plot of land for our future house. We wanted to plan ahead and start creating a wooded area, with shade and fruit trees, a hedge to screen us from the street and space for a vegetable garden. The team took our needs into account and designed a project that suited us. Their drawings helped us picture the result. The works were well run and lived up to our expectations. In short, thank you FLAURE!

Shall we talk about your project?

Would you like to landscape your park, garden, terrace, patio or balcony?
We work in Paris, the Yvelines and the Hauts-de-Seine and, on request, anywhere in France and in neighbouring countries.

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