From June to early August, the Haute-Provence is of a purple coat with a delicious fragrance. Of Vercors Verdon, lavender fields are in bloom. The opportunity to admire the beautiful scenery, but also to go to meet a culture, in every sense of the word: that of lavender, a long history of Provence. A delight for the senses.
Lavender and Provence, a long history
Lavender for all
Different regions and blooms
Our heart: the Valensole
factsheet
:: Lavender and Provence, a long history
In Provence, the deep blue of the Mediterranean ocean echoes the purple lavender fields of the hinterland. But lavender in Haute-Provence can not be reduced to lavish picture postcard scenery.
It is also of heritage we speak those plants that bloom only lasts a few weeks, from June to August. Memory of lavender and its approximately 2,000 growers discovered along roads across the region of Vercors Verdon, through the baronies and the Luberon.
Cultivated at the time of the Romans to scent baths and linen, lavender has appeared in Provence in the Middle Ages for its fragrance and medicinal properties. But it was in the nineteenth century that the culture of this flower grows. Perfumeries in Grasse then use the essential oil of lavender to develop their elixirs.
Lavender :: for all
Difficult to grow, pushing between 500 meters and 1500 meters on the sunny slopes of the mountains of Haute-Provence, the lavender is the most noble of flowers. Its essential oil, the finest, got the AOC "essential oil from Haute-Provence." It is increasingly supplanted by lavender, a hybrid between true lavender and spike lavender, bulkier plant whose essential oil yield is higher, but lower quality scent.
There are fewer and fewer traditional lavender distilleries, whose operation was mechanized. However, there are still some family businesses in the region, where lavender is sold in many forms (bags, trees, ice cream, cakes, honey ...).
Besides perfume, lavender is used for its medicinal properties: antiseptic and bactericide, it soothes insect bites. Infusion, it has a relaxing effect and anxiolytic. Gourmets will learn with pleasure that it also comes in the form of ice cream, honey or biscuits.
:: Different regions and blooms
When admire the lavender fields?
Between flowering and harvest, from late May to early August, depending on the region where it grows and, of course, the climatic conditions of the year. Tip: call the local tourist office to inquire about the status of flowering.
Harvesting the lavender is in the summer because high temperatures favor the rise of gasoline in the secretory glands of the flower. After the bulk of the flavor evaporates.
Where to see?
There are lavender roads that run through the Haute-Provence, Drôme to the Alpes-Maritimes through the Vaucluse and Alpes de Haute-Provence. Note the excellent routes proposed by the association The great crossing of the Alps.
En route, it is possible to visit farms and distilleries, buy handicrafts, attend parties lavender or hiking.
The main areas where lavender grows:
- Vercors, Diois Drôme Provençale The first zone extends from Crest to baronies, to Die Rosans. Drôme Provençale, the region of lavender will Montelimar in Nyons, encompassing the beautiful villages Dieulefit, Grignan and Valréas.
Flowering lavender begins mid-June and around Crest in Drôme Provençale. It ends in late July - early August in the highest Diois sectors.
- Hills and Mountains (Drôme, Vaucluse, Alpes de Haute Provence): from pins villages include Vaison-la-Romaine, Nyons, Buis-les-Baron, and Orpierre Rosans. Lavender blooms in late June and early July Buëch in higher areas. Harvesting takes place in early August.
- Ventoux, the Luberon and Lure mountain (Vaucluse, Alpes de Haute Provence): beautiful course that winds Carpentras Provence in Forcalquier, through Gordes, Apt Simiane-la-Rotonde and Banon. Flowering in late June around Apt until early August in Forcalquier.
- From Valensole the hinterland of Grasse (Alpes de Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes): The region includes the Valensole, country of Digne (Mézel and Barrême) Upper Verdon Castellane around and Grasse hinterland around the capital of perfume. Lavender flowers in late June to early August and up Valensole Upper Verdon.
Our favorite :: heart: Valensole
On this vast plateau between the valleys of Verdon, Bléone and Durance, the lavender fields are in peak bloom looks like a large purple seas, pierced here and there with an olive or cypress.
In the background, the foothills of the Alps, the hilltop villages. Above your head, the light blue of a cloudless sky. And everywhere, the fragrant scent of flowers in the fields, the hum of bees. Beware bites!
Valensole (photo), a small population is a large space to the French, largely devoted to the cultivation of lavender. The villages are the inheritors of a long history, dating back to the Middle Ages and even in antiquity.
Germany-en-Provence has a beautiful Renaissance castle complete with a park with old trees. Provençal village Valensole worth a visit for its cozy cafes, its thirteenth century church and its beautiful fountain in the eighteenth century.
Other nuggets to discover: the charming hilltop village of Saint-Jurs, with its lovely churches of another age, a great view of the valley and lavender fields we enjoy. Laugh, founded by the Romans, aligns an array of patrician houses from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Finally, a few miles away, start the impressive gorges of Verdon, our Grand Canyon National that can be reached after a detour to the charming village of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie. In Provence, a gem can hide another!
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