Les Jardins d'Alexandre, or the art of imagining landscapes...

Today, the Bees headed to Paris to discover the wonderful world of one of their clients, a landscape designer, Les Jardins d'Alexandre...

Today, the Bees headed to Paris to discover the wonderful world of one of their clients, a landscape designer, Les Jardins d'Alexandre... Alexandre Quirder and Benjamin Terrier opened the doors of their garden and landscape sanctuary and shared their fascinating entrepreneurial adventure: AQ: I set up SMJ in 2006, which later became Les Jardins d'Alexandre in April 2019. Originally, my speciality was tree surgery. Benjamin joined me 3 years ago after lengthy discussions at the end of 2018 (laughs) and is now my partner.

We work mainly in Paris and its suburbs.

CLM: How did this adventure begin? Did you already have your own tree surgery business?

AQ: No, I was an employee at a tree surgery company and I decided to take the entrepreneurial plunge in 2016. Historically, I've known Benjamin since school! We did our vocational baccalaureate together. We were friends with a good rapport. We stayed close, maintaining a friendship over the years, even though each of us went our own way. Benjamin in landscaping, for companies that really did gardens, me in tree surgery. We started seeing more of each other from 2015. Benjamin wasn't very fulfilled in the company where he was working. We thought about working together, until we put it into practice and became partners!

CLM: And today, how many employees does Les Jardins d'Alexandre have?

BT: We are now 11. We have really developed landscaping and quality maintenance contracts. We serve a wide range of clients who have a terrace, a garden, or land to develop. We offer them a complete project from A to Z that can also include timber constructions, masonry, automatic irrigation, lighting - a truly comprehensive service.

CLM: You actually offer landscape design, beyond just garden installation.

AQ: Exactly! Thanks to our design studio, we are able to propose a project, presented as a very comprehensive dossier showcasing the plant palette we will implement, the furniture, planters, etc. A bit like a high-end kitchen fit-out, actually.

CLM: You don't work exclusively with private clients but also with professionals, isn't that right?

AQ: Indeed. Since 2006, I had built up a client base. I worked a lot with people in public works, property developers, etc. So when I explained that I could develop other services, I already had an established client network. In fact, Benjamin and I combined our networks to offer a complete service.

Our two client bases were very different.

CLM: What is the speciality of your know-how today?

BT: We have always sought novelty in our services (new materials, exceptional plants, etc.). I learned my trade with Didier Danet, where I did my apprenticeship. There, I looked after Pierre Berge for example - a garden lover. I knew Pierre Berge first, then Yves Saint Laurent at the Orangerie. As he loved working with me, he followed me when I returned to Didier Danet. Pierre Berge often told me "wherever you go, I'll go" (laughs). Then, working for another company, I also met Yves Saint Laurent. That allowed me to learn how to manage specific high-end projects or clients, to fully understand clients' needs and wishes.

I am a passionate garden lover.

AQ: Benjamin has truly enormous knowledge about plants!

CLM: You mentioned innovation earlier. What does innovation mean in the landscape world?

AQ: It can be about materials, furniture, plants. It's a bit like fashion: there are trends in gardens. Currently, we visit many gardens where we find plants that were fashionable in the 90s but are no longer in vogue at all. Moreover, with climate change, we now offer Mediterranean plants in Paris that we couldn't install before because they weren't suited to the climate.

BT: We also try, when creating or redesigning a garden, to harmonise the garden with the people who live there and with the house itself. The garden must be a coherent extension of the house. A garden doesn't work "on its own".

AQ: For example, if we arrive at a family where we know there are young children, we need to adapt to their needs and requests.

CLM: What would be the dream project you could be entrusted with?

AQ: Personally, my dream would be for someone to say "I live in Paris, I have a garden or a terrace and I want it to be as wonderful as possible". To treat yourself to a magnificent garden the way you dream of treating yourself to a Porsche or a Ferrari, in fact...

BT: You walk through the door and there it is, wonderment... You can't imagine you're in Paris.

CLM: What is the achievement you are most proud of?

AQ: That's a tough one! We have completed several very beautiful projects. In Issy-les-Moulineaux, for example. Near Disneyland Paris (Magny-le-Hongre), too. There, we started from zero - it was a bare garden, and the result was truly successful. It was very beautiful.

CLM: What makes you happiest about that project near Disney? The complexity of the exercise? The plants you installed? The overall design?

AQ: The whole thing, actually. On that project, the client tells us that every time he has friends over, they are amazed by the work we did. That obviously makes you proud... We used very beautiful materials, very fine planters. We built a huge exotic wood bench, set into the wall. The client wanted a "Californian beach" style and we were able to meet his expectations.

BT: The plant palette is extraordinary.

And the bench is very impressive.

CLM: For the construction of that bench, did you call in a contractor?

BT: No, everything was done in-house! The garden was designed by our studio and entirely built by the Les Jardins d'Alexandre team. We presented the client with the entire project, from design to completion and ongoing care through an annual maintenance contract. We also designed the plant palette, the planters, the layout, the lighting.

CLM: And what is your worst memory in terms of a project?

AQ: Nothing we haven't solved! But one problem on a site... We had ordered a loader for an enormous plant - an exceptional specimen. The loader that was delivered was too big and wouldn't fit. We had to improvise and install this enormous plant by hand... We can also handle all the formalities involved in landscaping: crane installation for lifting plants onto terraces, planning applications, and so on.

CLM: Have the two years we have just lived through, in a particular health context, been favourable to your business? When you are stuck in your garden with no other option for going out, you want it to be beautiful, surely!?

AQ: I think our clients would have carried out the project with or without Covid. However, at present, it is true that in Paris, every scrap of terrace space is developed and enhanced. Nothing is left neglected. To give a concrete example, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, one of our clients had the top floor of a building and negotiated with the co-owners to obtain the use of the roof. We developed this rooftop, after considerable structural reinforcement work, and created a beautiful landscaped terrace with plant beds and views of La Defense and the Eiffel Tower!

A very fine project.

BT: That client had consulted several landscape designers before us who were unable to deliver the project. We took on the challenge and we did it.

CLM: What development do you envisage for the years ahead?

AQ: Our dream is to become a benchmark in Paris for gardens. We would like to have two full creation teams, without exceeding 15 employees. Our team is wonderful and we work in a convivial, family atmosphere that we wish to preserve because it is very precious. We love what we do!

BT: We also carry out year-round maintenance of our creations. Indeed, when you invest money in a garden, it would be a shame not to keep it in optimal condition... Some of our clients don't have green fingers or simply don't have the time to maintain their garden and/or terrace.

So we take care of it for them.

CLM: The best compliment someone could pay you?

AQ: We regularly receive thank-you emails from delighted clients... Those are wonderful compliments!

BT: It's a great team of enthusiasts.

CLM: And if someone has a space to develop in France, outside Paris, should they still call you?

AQ: If it's a beautiful project, yes, of course! We are open to it. Just get in touch...

BT: With pleasure. The Bees wish Les Jardins d'Alexandre many beautiful landscape projects for the years to come...