A FEAST FOR THE SENSES.
Nature has been generous to Provence. With the sun shining 300 days of the year, the landscape is sun-drenched and spectacular. Rugged volcanic mountains, deep gorges, undulating green hills and vast fertile fields speckled with charming villages, contrast beautifully creating a scene which is harsh yet gentle, vibrant yet still serene.
The area’s inspirational powers are well known with artists like Cezanne, Van Gogh, Matisse and Picasso all having painted under its cloudless, blue skies revelling in its vibrant light and sunbathed colours. And poets, writers, actors, dignitaries and everyday people have all fallen under its spell.
Rich fertile soil yields an abundance of produce: rosemary, thyme, grapes, olive, almond and citrus trees and in the spring and summer months – July and August – the fields become a fragrant floral mosaic abuzz with bees, nectar-sipping birds, serenading cicadas and grass hoppers. Yet one plant in particular stands out amid the others in this vibrant palette of Provence … fragrant, colourful lavender.
Lavender thrives in the chalky soils and hot, dry climate of the higher altitudes of Provence and the region is renowned for the world’s finest lavender.
As a child in Provence, Olivier Baussan, founder of L’Occitane, played amid the lavender innocent in the knowledge that one day his company would use 20% of the area’s total production of lavender essential oil.
“Where I grew up, when the lavender is in bloom the earth looks as if it is mirroring the deep blueness of the sky. It’s a time to reflect on the glory of summer… If I close my eyes, I can smell the sweet, heady scent of the flowers that even the bees can’t resist…People harvest the flowers on their knees, as if in homage to their goodness.” reminisces Baussan.
Originally derived from the Latin word – “lavare” meaning to wash – lavender or “Lavendula” can be traced back over 2,500 years when Egyptians, Phoenicians and Arabs used it for mummification and perfume. During epidemics, Persians, Greeks and Romans burned branches in sick rooms for protection and lavender oils were used for bathing, cooking and scenting the air. Under its Greek name of “spikenard”, lavender is mentioned often in the Bible. The plant, believed to have been taken from the Garden of Eden, is recorded as being used by Mary to anoint the feet of Jesus and to scent his clothes to protect him from evil.
In Medieval and Renaissance Europe, washer women were known as “lavenders” as they dried clothing on lavender bushes to infuse them with its perfume and used it to scent drawers and cupboards to repel insects. In French royal history, Charles VI of France slept on lavender-filled pillows and Louis XIV bathed in lavender scented water. In England, Elizabeth I demanded fresh lavender flowers daily in the palace and lavender conserve on the royal table and along with Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II they all used lavender products from the famous English company, Yardley. Today, as in the past, the soothing, relaxing qualities of lavender are well known and it is widely used as a herbal medicine and its essential oil is the most popular of all such oils and the base for many perfumes, soaps, beauty care products and aromatherapy.
Lavender comes in many varieties and it is the Fine or True Lavender – “Lavandula Angustifolia” which is widely grown in the Haute-Provence. Wild or cultivated, this variety gives an excellent essential oil recognized the world over.
The higher the altitude the finer the fragrance and in accordance with the very strict AOC standards introduced in 1981, the lavender of the Haute-Provence must be grown at an altitude of at least 800 metres. Its production is limited to only 284 villages. A maximum yield of only 25 kilograms of essential oil per hectare is permitted and the oil must be virgin, processed from flower tops using water not solvents.
In the village of Sault, situated on a plateau 1,000 metres above sea level, lavender farmer Fabrice Fournel carries on the traditions of his father and is a member of the lavender farmers co-operative which supplies L’Occitane with its essential oil.
Depending on climatic conditions, the lavender begins flowering in June and for Fournel, harvest generally takes place from July 20 to August 10 – the height of summer when the lavender flower is the richest in oil.
After a whole year of caring and nurturing his crop, the 20 days of harvest are long and tiring for Fournel, his family and co-workers, who work intensively from 8am to 9pm. “On the first day of harvest the smell of the flowers is so strong, it makes us dizzy” he said. While harvesting is now starting to be automated, Fournel still picks by hand. After picking, the lavender is dried in the sun for 1 or 2 days before being taken to the distillery for processing.
As well as distilling the flowers for their oil they also yield an abundance of nectar from which bees make a high-quality honey. The bees of local honey producer, Andre Neviere gather pollen from the rosemary and thyme of the area but it is the lavender honey which he proudly claims is “the finest – one of the best honeys there could ever be”.
Besides the medical, aromatherapy and beauty care applications lavender also has a wide variety of culinary uses. It pairs well with chocolate and is often used in biscuits, cakes, desserts or confectionery and works well with sheep and goat’s milk cheese. Lavender is an essential ingredient in the blend “Herbes de Provence” and adds a slightly sweet floral taste to savory dishes.
The lavender flowers are also blended with black or green tea to give a fresh, relaxing scent and add flavour when making a herbal blend and the French are known for their lavender syrup, lavender sugar and candied lavender flowers used in cake decorating.
June through to September, when the sun-bathed countryside of Provence is cloaked in the violet hues of lavender and the air is bursting with its intoxicating fragrant perfume, is a particularly wonderful time to visit – a time to feast all one’s senses and enjoy the time-less beauty of Provence.
Fran Stephenson
