Many people move to the French countryside to have more space around them. What many newcomers 鈥� especially British 鈥� quickly notice, however, is that the idea of a 鈥榞arden鈥� is very different here.
While the typical English garden has an informal and naturalistic design, often incorporating elements such as meandering paths, mixed borders, and a variety of plants, in France it is far more common to copy Versailles and opt for a formal look, the idea being to establish some order over nature.
Indeed, large gardens are seldom called jardins at all. 鈥楶arc鈥� is more frequently used, signifying the intention to create a space of mown lawn and trees suitable for the enjoyment of the land-owning class.
Gardens are seldom even found around farmers鈥� houses in France 鈥� the attitude that it is silly to work in a decorative garden after spending all day sweating in a hot tractor is a common one.
Instead most French gardeners with limited garden space focus on growing fruit and vegetables 鈥� even in what would be considered front gardens in the UK.
Again, the word jardin is shunned 鈥� potager, with its promise of bounty for the soup pot, is almost always used.
France being France, there are pages of rules and regulations about what people can or cannot do in their gardens 鈥� and many are ignored.
Some, however, are simple common sense, such as the rules on brush cutting and clearing around your property to reduce the risk of fire destroying your home. Ignore those at your peril.
Cleaning garden growth
顿茅产谤辞耻蝉蝉补颈濒濒补驳别 translates as brush clearing, and a 诲茅产谤辞耻蝉蝉补颈濒濒别耻蝉别 is the noisy strimmer to do it found in nearly every rural tool shed.
Other useful machines for the job include gyro cutters on tractors and chainsaws to prune branches, but it is possible to do the work with hand tools if you have the time and a strong back.
Read more: How to handle disputes with your neighbours in France
顿茅产谤辞耻蝉蝉补颈濒濒补驳别 might involve cutting low-hanging branches, strimming grass, trimming hedges or shrubs and clearing away dead leaves.
In some areas of France, it is mandatory. These regulations are known as obligations l茅gales de d茅broussaillement (OLD).
You can read more about those rules in the article below.
OLD regulations are primarily concentrated in the southern regions (Auvergne-Rh么ne-Alpes, Corsica, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie and Provence-Alpes-C么te d鈥橝zur) where there is a greater risk of wildfires, and requirements are imposed at a departmental level.
In general, people who live in departments where 诲茅产谤辞耻蝉蝉补颈濒濒补驳别 rules are in place must cut back their gardens if their property comes within 200m of a forest or other woodland.
Where these apply, owners are typically required to clear 50-100m around their built property (house, pool house, garage, outbuildings, etc). This radius can also extend beyond their property if their neighbouring land is not used or maintained by another owner.
Even if your home is not in an area classed as being particularly at risk from wildfires, there may be a prefectural decree requiring you to carry out 诲茅产谤辞耻蝉蝉补颈濒濒补驳别 over a 50m radius around your property.
Your local prefecture website should contain instructions for affected residents, and your mairie should be able to help if you are unsure as to whether the rules apply to you.
In at-risk urban areas, 诲茅产谤辞耻蝉蝉补颈濒濒补驳别 is normally also obligatory for the owners of properties situated within 200m of woodland.
Tenants can also be responsible, if it is mentioned in the rental contract.
The government鈥檚 has details for all of France (you search for your commune by postal address).
Trees must not be planted right along a boundary line, especially if the other side of the boundary is a field where agricultural machinery is used.
Most communes recommend that trees should be planted three metres from a boundary, so that when they grow, branches will not have to be hacked off to allow the combine harvester to reach the edge of the field.
Hedges should also be set back from the boundary so that when grown they can be trimmed back to the boundary line easily.
In towns, it is good practice to avoid disputes with neighbours by planting trees away from the boundary so that branches do not overhang.
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What are some other important rules?
Bonfires are officially banned.
Instead, all garden greenery should either be composted or taken to the local tip where special containers are ready to receive it.
This is probably one of the most ignored rules in rural areas.
It seems silly to expect everyone to buy a trailer, have a car capable of towing it (many electric cars cannot have tow bars fitted because of where the batteries are positioned) and do a 30km-or-so round-trip to the d茅ch猫tterie with three trailer-loads from one session of hedge clipping.
In towns, the situation is different 鈥� if you have a smoky bonfire in a small back garden, expect a fine.
And if you do have a bonfire in your garden, watch it closely and make sure you have the necessary equipment to control it.
Do not do so when there is a ripe crop of grain next door 鈥� if the fire spreads, you will not be popular.
Pesticides: Rules on garden pesticide use were tightened by the European Union and translated into French law in 2019.
Gardeners cannot buy, store or use synthetic pesticides, a general term which covers insecticides, fungicides and herbicides. Glyphosate weedkillers such as Roundup, which used to be widely used, are now banned.
A whole range of 鈥榯raditional鈥� pesticides such as Bordeaux mix 鈥� a fungicide made by grinding copper sulphate and lime into a fine powder to be mixed with water 鈥� can still be used in France.
Follow instructions to make sure there is not an excessive build-up of copper in the ground.
In theory, products allowed in the garden will have an EAJ (emploi autoris茅 dans les jardins) label but this is not always the case if you buy them from a farmers鈥� co-operative.
Whatever product you use, you must not do so within five metres of a river, spring, pond, or other water source, or near a drain or ditch leading to a river or sewerage system.
Making your own pesticides is officially banned in France, but lots of people do it.
Seeds: The European Union also, in the mid-1990s, insisted that only approved and tested seeds and tubers be sold.
In France, the law caused outrage because it meant local varieties of vegetables might be at risk of extinction as big seed companies would not pay to have them approved and tested.
Associations saving local varieties sprang up all over the country and, if you are interested, will be delighted to have you as a member. They get round the ban on selling seeds by explaining that members just exchange seeds for free (troc).
Pruning and cloning: Similarly, local associations trying to save old fruit species abound. Most organise training days in early spring to teach people the best way to prune trees, and to clone them.
