05. Flora et Zéphyr

 

Lauriane Brémard is an agricultural engineer, landscaper and musician. She was born in 1986 and grew up in the Jura region of France, where she developed a passion for gardening on her family estate. After graduating from AgroParisTech in 2009 and with an interest in the synergies between urban, natural and agricultural spaces, she began her career in environmental strategy consulting. Working for the Communauté Urbaine de Bordeaux, she collaborated with a team of landscapers and urban planners, and that was when it all clicked! Convinced that landscaping could have a powerful impact on the environment, she set up her own business to create educational and therapeutic gardens. After further training in landscape design at the École Supérieure des Agricultures in Angers and experience in managing landscaping projects, she now heads the Planning and Design Department of the Urban Nature Division in Le Mans. She works as part of a team on projects to redevelop a number of major urban parks, plant school grounds and create temporary gardens. Through her projects, she combines creativity, sensitivity and rigour. By blending art and knowledge, she seeks to develop gardens that are profoundly sensory, vectors of dreams and imagination.  During this process, she works to ensure that they also represent solutions to today's environmental challenges.

 

Lionel Roussel is originally from Dordogne and grew up on the family farm in the middle of the fields, woods and vineyards of Bergerac. His love of the mountains, biodiversity and ornithology led him to gain a vocational qualification (BTS) in management of natural spaces at the Lycée Agricole in Melle. He settled in La Rochelle, where he discovered the world of local authorities and coastal areas. His wife's work in tourism led them to travel to countries with landscapes that fascinated him: South Africa, Namibia and Cambodia. After some 20 years of professional experience in the environmental field in Nantes as a river technician, technical project manager and waste management service manager, he decided to go back to school to pursue his desire for creativity, drawing and plants. This led him to take a professional Bachelor's degree in landscaping at the École Supérieure des Agricultures in Angers. There, he studied the management of landscaping projects at different levels and worked as part of a team to design private gardens adapted for the elderly. He also designed a private garden on a roof terrace and sketched out development programmes for urban parks. In 2023, his team's project, named Aux Arbres Citoyens, won 1^st prize in the Angers Loire Métropole Jardin d'Expression competition. In 2024, with Justicia ad Hymenoptera, he won the Festival des Jardins Métissés at Wesserling Park, with the Tree Bee Happy collective. He is now head of department in the Nature and Gardens Division of the City of Nantes, with one of the most beautiful arboretums and a rose garden in full development. Lionel is motivated by creativity, drawing, improving quality of life, reclaiming biodiversity, restoring natural environments, botany, multidisciplinary approaches, teamwork, challenges... meeting new people and having fun!

 

“Growing up in a family where respect for the environment was a core concern, I soon developed a keen interest in the living world, and in particular in plant-related professions. My travels abroad opened my eyes to the rest of the world, allowing me to discover other cultures and grow through contact with other realities. I decided to pursue studies related to nature and enrolled in a BTSA qualification in landscaping, which deepened my knowledge of plants, both those planted intentionally and those growing naturally, and their uses in the field. These skills were complemented by my years spent training apprentices, sharing my passion for plants with them. This role gave me the opportunity to share my expertise and be exposed to a wide range of approaches, ideas and backgrounds. It was with this in mind that I went back to school to study for a professional Bachelor's degree in landscaping at the École Supérieure des Agricultures in Angers. This course marked a turning point in my career, enabling me to change jobs and join the Terra Aménité team. As a landscaping consultant, I get to share my vision by working on creative, practical projects. These days, I create management plans for local authorities and outdoor hospitality establishments, and I design projects for private individuals. I consider environmental issues, biodiversity preservation, the importance of local identities and using available resources, adopting a crossdisciplinary and sustainable approach to propose long-term projects.”

 

“A common thread running through my career is the joy of learning. That is what has always guided me in my directions, choices, travels and encounters. It led me several times to a crossroads, where I had to make important professional and personal decisions. It has also enabled me to forge links with the world, with the arts, and with other people. This same joy is what has now allowed me, surrounded by a wonderful team, to step into the enchanted world offered by the Chaumont-sur-Loire International Garden Festival. I hope that it will continue to help me explore the field of possibilities. The joy of learning: as an accredited architect from the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture in Paris-Belleville since 2007, I've been able to practise my profession in France and China. This rich experience gave me the chance to take part in the design and implementation of many urban, cultural and residential projects. These opportunities have allowed me to experience projects at different levels, from regional planning to custom furniture. The crossroads: fascinated by the diversity of the world around me and inspired by the creativity and resilience of nature, I decided to go back to school to learn more. So, in 2023, I received a professional Bachelor's degree in landscaping from the École Supérieure des Agricultures in Angers. Forging links: at the start of the degree, I wanted to broaden my vision as a project architect, and by the end of the course I decided to pursue a career as a landscaper. The landscaper's eye is what I needed to connect my designs to the world around me. Landscape design is the art of the living, and this echoes my sensibility. The field of possibilities: always in a state of wonder.”