Depends exactly where - the southernmost tip of France is Zone 9, with a tiny bit on the edge of the Italian border at Zone 10, whereas the rest of France and the UK is primarily Zone 8. The biggest issue will be water supplies and the need for frequent irrigation during the hotter months, together with the kind of soil present in the region - if its light, thin and sandy, it'll be much less hospitable to many common English perennials because of the heat and longer warm periods, but in general, if the soil isn't too thin and you can deal with the watering, with just a few alternative plant choices, it should be possible. Rather depends what you mean by 'english garden' too - if you mean that as a style, it should be possible, though a lawn might be a bit of a stretch depending on the area, but you'd be thinking more of mediterranean style planting instead of perennials which do well in heavy soil, lower temperatures and wet or damp conditions.

My friend from the Ardeche was bowled over by English roses, which suggests that they at least might be difficult.
You'll be able to grow great rosemary and lavender though!

I found a rose nursery in largentiere ardeche supplies 1000 different varieties of bare root roses.
Thanks bamboo for your incisive answer i was not thinking of a lawn just a wild English garden and had completely forgot i was volunteering in saint pee sur nivelle south of biarritz last summer and they all had lawns there the lady i worked for had roses in june it did get hot and garden needed frequent watering. But not sure how they get on with growing daffs,tulips or plants that like a cold snap!

So glad to hear about the roses!

Rather than fight the conditions, it would be better to use plants that are more suited to them, but give the feel of an English garden. I remember seeing a large grouping of lampranthus growing wild in South Africa, and it looked just like asters.

Daffodils shouldn't be a problem, though you would want to pick your varieties carefully--'Unsurpassable' instead of 'Dutch Masters', etc.
Tulips are a little more labor intensive, needing to be refrigerated for 6-8 weeks before planting deep. In my experience, Darwin Hybrids are the easiest to do this with. Around here, we usually just throw them away after bloom, but in southern France, it might be worthwhile leaving them until fall, digging them up, and chilling again. For a wilder look, use the Mediterranean species Tulips: Tulipa clusiana, T. saxatilis, T. sylvestris, and other, harder to find species. Those won't need artificial chilling.
Siberian Iris probably won't work, but Bearded Iris, Spuria Iris, and many Japanese Iris should be fine.

Why not search nurseries for the area to see what plants they offer.

Roses are not a problem in France - French roses are, after all, amongst the most historic - but they need care. Irises (the national flower of France) also no problem - pick your varieties by what is available locally.

Do bulbs really need a cold spell??- consider how many bulbs are putting in an appearance already across the UK due to the mild December! They're responding to the warmth not the cold!

There are several GoYers from the Med (and even warmer climes) who seem to manage to recreate the English garden look.

I would say seek expert advice before spending any money.
I was cycling near Narbonne years ago, never saw a garden of any kind. Just a few Pelargoniums in pots on walls at the front of houses, I had the feeling that come
12 noon they would be taken indoors !
If you watch the Tour de France on
Channel 24 there are no gardens in those urban areas. Only Grape Vines.

You can - but you will have to pay the water bill!
I work in a garden in France which is quite 'English' in style.
The difficulties are; water is expensive - rightly so. Mulch is expensive and necessary to conserve moisture and protect roots. (But we tried raw olive waste - free from the olive mills in nov-jan - which was really good around established plants - it inhibits seed growth - which was a plus in a garden that has zillions of bay, oxalis, comfrey and madder seeding everywhere! 2 years later it is still doing its job under shrubs)
Roses grow amazingly well - but choose varieties that are proven in that area - lots take the searing summer heat well - but grow like mad and need extra pruning. My client has a rose bed - it only took us 3 days to dig out the rocks by hand and cover in compost...
All the salvias and iris seem to do well.
But - everything grows quicker and very leggy if you don't prune more - a Chelsea chop every couple of months! Also the growing season can be so long - sometimes winters are really mild and everything keeps growing.. It is a different style of gardening.
If you go for the less hardy varieties and bulk out with the tough shrubs and herbs you can still get the 'feel' of an English garden. Good luck.

You could but it is very hard. I designed and built one from scratch on a stony hilltop in the south of France. You might have a look at my early blogs. You can decide wether it looks like an English garden....
I had to forget everything I knew about gardening in the uk, admittedly not a lot, and start again. It was mostly experimental, trial and error.
As Hoya said ,roses do very well there, especially on clay and in my case, all were old French roses. Not a David Austin in sight. In my experience the so called lasagne layering method of growing plants worked brilliantly.
I scoured the supermarkets for cardboard boxes, got manure and bales of straw from our neighbour farmer. Dig a hole for your plant, fill with water and let it drain 3 times , then plant as usual, water again. Then cover with cardboard, compost and lastly with a layer of straw, water again. This worked for my veg plot, my hedges, all trees and flowers and worked very well, very little watering needed afterwards. If you look at my plant list and photos you will see what I grew. The growing season is longer than here. Don't expect to grow a lawn, it doesn't...there is a reason the French do potage gardening and pots!!!
You cannot garden between midday and 5pm in the summer, at least not in the south of France. Having said that, it is immensely rewarding when you do manage to establish your garden. Oh don't expect to swap plants and seeds with your neighbours, not many French are gardeners, too much like hard work! Mad dogs and Englishmen springs to mind ?
Let us know how you get on, I found GOYers terribly helpful and honestly don't know if I would have done as well without their support and encouragement. Good luck.

Thank you resi for your informative reply i posted the question as i just wondered what it was like gardening in the south of france while bored i was volunteering at a farm in pays de loire whos climate is is similar to u.k. incredibly wet! in the winter and had romantic notions of going to live in south france (warmer in winter) and starting a garden that i always dreamed of. I read your blog/photos and guess they are all taken from your time in France?. I did wonder where you were there? as position makes huge difference i also volunteered in june in saint pee sur nivelle that actually borders spain it was in a rich developed area everyone had lawns and it was all pretty green with lots of roses and very hilly. i guess if you got money you just turn the tap on.The brits do have an obsession with the gardening/repairing old houses the french less so and you had probably become in the u.k. just going down the garden center and just picking up anything you wanted. Maybe its too easy here in u.k. to garden with less time going back to making your own things is more fulfilling and where you have more time

This is wonderful advice from Hoya and Resi. Print up and keep in case you plan to move in years go come. Also with climate change we may end up having to adopt these tactics in U.K.

St Pee s N I see is in the Basque country which is much wetter and closer to the sea than the area where I lived for 13 years. Not quite Aquitane but the Gers, c 20km south of Auch.
Thank you Diane, fortunately I don't need to use those drastic measures here, n.yorks being plenty wet enough!