The 12th century Abbaye de Sénanque, the most recognizable image of Provence
For all that we love the Luberon, until this week we’ve never really seen the lavender.
We first visited Provence in early June 2003. As we left Saignon headed toward our final night on the Côte d’Azur, we saw just a hint of distinctive color on the tips of the lavender plants on the plateau above Saignon.
We’ve seen many fields of lavender in the autumn, winter and spring: rounded clumps of pale green in long manicured rows, often in very isolated, mountainous spots. But we’d never seen the lavender fields of Provence in full bloom: those dramatic masses of bright purple that captivate so many of us in guidebooks, coffee table books, and picture postcards.
Field near Murs
Our housesitting role hasn’t started yet, and we’re sensitive that our friends are getting ready to go away for a month. They also had a social engagement for part of the day today, so Charley and I thought it would be good for our family to get out on our own. We decided go to in search of lavender.
After lunch in Roussillon (where the plat du jour was daube de boeuf—yum!), we headed toward Gordes and then down the steep and narrow road to the canyon beyond the village where the beautiful Abbaye de Sénanque presides over an expansive field of lavender. The monks cultivate lavender and sell it in dried bouquets and essence to help support their community. After at least ten visits to the abbey (and its wonderful bookstore), finally today we saw its lavender in bloom.
We took the back road away from the abbey, deciding to detour to Venansque, an extremely peaceful and beautiful village on the back side of the Vaucluse Plateau, a place we hadn’t visited before. The road to Venansque was also narrow and steep, an extremely scenic drive. We saw just a couple of cars but did see a several cyclists, struggling up the hills in the hot afternoon sun. From the belevedere outside the medieval fortifications of Venansque there was an impressive view of Mont Ventoux and the surrounding plain.
We took another road toward Murs, passing a beautiful and isolated farm—not a neighbor for miles—with a large and bright lavender field alongside the road. Just before the village, we turned left on the road marked “Sault.” We didn’t really have a plan and today we didn’t even have a good map—we were just wandering. We could do this confidently because we know the general geography and the relative situation of the various villages and towns in this area. We knew we wouldn’t get lost, and that any road we took would be scenic and interesting. This time we were really off on backroads, far from the popular tourist spots of the Luberon, where people troop through villages and buy souvenirs. The hiking on the Vaucluse Plateau is especially wonderful, but it’s too hot to hike now and access is restricted due to risk of fire.
At one dramatic overlook, we looked down into the Gorges de la Nesque, a deep, jagged and very spectacular canyon we’ve driven through a couple of times. And then we began to see more fields of lavender. Charley is a great partner for someone like me who likes to take a lot of pictures. He patiently and safely pulled over every time I saw an opportunity and shouted out, “Could we stop?” or “Stop now! Photo opportunity!” It was a little hazy today because of the heat... but I'll definitely be out with my camera again.
Looking across to the Gorges de la Nesque and Mont Ventoux
Sault is one of the lavender centers of this part of Provence, a town of just over 1000 people perched above a plain at 2500 feet. Lavender grows best at these higher elevations, and from the large terrace at Sault, we had a beautiful view of the surrounding fields. The lavender fields were mixed with fields of wheat, creating another one of those beautiful partchwork quilts across the countryside.
Sault was a busy place on this July afternoon, as others like us came to admire and take pictures of the lavender. We had drinks on the outdoor terrace of a café near the lookout, and I made a quick trip to the Tourist Office (an especially good one) just as another busload of tourists descended on the town.
The patchwork quilt of lavender and wheat, seen from Sault
We drove home over the top of the plateau by a large and isolated government complex (a former missile base), past the village of St. Christol, and finally down to Rustrel and Apt, passing several more fields of that beautiful lavender, and yes—stopping several more times so I could take my pictures. Some of the fields were well-groomed, just as I expected; others seemed straggly and unkempt—but they were all that in-your-face purple. Maybe I love a field of lavender almost as much as the sunflowers.
I know we’ll see much more lavender during the next five weeks, but I’ll always remember our long and wandering drive this day, the day we first saw the lavender of Provence.
On the Vaucluse Plateau near St. Christol
