Lavender bliss

~ Lavender fields ~

The timing of one’s visit to Lavender land is everything!
We learnt, that lavenders begin blooming from the last week of June, are at a peak early to mid-July and are harvested anytime from end July through August. Not all lavenders bloom at the same time though ; it depends on the variation of the lavender and the climatic conditions such as humidity and rainfall.

Since it was going to be my first visit to Provence to especially see the lavender fields, I was a bit edgy thinking I’d miss out on the blooms. To add to it, this year I found a lot of Lavender spam photos on Instagram, as soon as blooms began in the famous region of Valensole, around the last week of June.But oh! the sigh of joy, 🙂 when we saw our very first field of lavender.

“Life is beautiful / La vie est belle”, I exclaimed. 

En route our 40 minute drive, from Banon to Sault – the popular and recommended ‘Lavande’ region, we found the most beautiful lavender fields that we could have to ourselves for a while without the crowds of tourists. Having your own transport is essential to explore the region, unless you’ve booked a guided group tour, inclusive of transport. The 2nd week of July, before the 15th of the month, ended up being the right time or the best time rather for us to visit.You can choose the kind of experience that would delight you the most.

It could just be the simple joy of strolling through the lavender and capturing a precious memory of it ; walk on ahead, but make sure there aren’t any ‘no trespassing’ signs and you don’t pluck any flowers or disturb the bees. Cute bunches of lavender flowers are sold by small shopkeepers at the market places. As for the bees, their work will result in the making of delicately scented honey which is sold throughout the region. Next, if visiting a distillery and meeting the local farmer interests you and will enrich your experience, opt for this and enjoy your time.After frolicking around enough, in the most gorgeous of lavender fields, we drove on to the main town of Sault and bought a few souvenirs to fondly reminisce our summer days here. A lavender soap bar in a small tin box is one of my favourite keeps.

An unmissable view from the town of Sault are the lush winding fields of lavender and golden wheat, encircled alternatively and growing side by side.

Here are a few famous locations of Lavender fields that can be easily located through online maps / gps, once you’re in Provence be it (south Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur  or north Alpes-de-Haute-Provence);
a) L’Abbey de Senanque near Gordes – one of the most famous place in Provence where monks grow lavender
b) Valensole Plateau – south of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
c) The lavender farm at Sault – a botanical garden located between Mont Ventoux and Luberon

Once you arrive at any of these chosen destinations – of all things lavender, you can proceed to enquire about the charges of guided tours or any entry fees that may apply.

Saying Au revoir now, leaving you with the lingering perfume of lavender wrapped in the rays of warm sunshine !