Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Poppies in Provence

Red-field-of-poppies red poppies 

Photos and text by Corey Amaro

Poppies.
A field full of red poppies. The beginning sign of summer in Provence.
First come the poppies, than the lavender, followed by the sunflowers.
It is rare, but possible to see the three colors blooming, side by side, along the back roads of Provence.

red poppies

What a happy surprise it is to find a field of poppies, spring before your eyes. This field was on the way to my friend's house at La Madone. I pulled my car over, as far as I could on the tiny back road and jumped out. I only wish I had Toto and the Scarecrow to run through the field with me… instead I heard the Wicked Witch mimicking: "Poppies my Pretty!"

Red-poppies Poppies-under-an-oak-tree

In France there is a tradition that when you eat the first strawberry, or cherry, or fig, of the season you make a wish. (Of course it only works and has meaning in a country where fruits and vegetable are appreciated and grown locally, verses being imported from another place, out of season.) Often you will hear a French person say, "This is my first strawberry of the season, I'm going to make a wish." It is a way of honoring the season, a way to celebrate renewal, rebirth, to connects us to the past with the present.

Red-poppies-of-provence

Poppy

Field-of-poppies  

Usually the first poppies appear by the beginning of March, but a field of poppies happen towards the middle of May. Like honoring the first strawberry, or cherry, or fig of the season, I like to honor poppies and a whole wide world of other "first of the season" too. It reminds me to keep my eyes open and take note of the first things that appear each season.
Things like… Poppies, caterpillars, bees, swallows, the evening owl, the full moon, the first frost, the fist time the tiles are too cold under foot means winter is close at hand.

IMG_6167 

Poppy talk…

Today is the first day in over a month, that there is a brocante and it isn't raining!

I am going to celebrate that big time.

Happy celebrating the "Firsts" of the season's best!

Notes: SItes to Enjoy

Poppy Handmade

Poppies in Provence on Flickr

Poppy in Provence

Comments

40 responses to “Poppies in Provence”

  1. Kathleen

    hi corey,oh what beautiful poppies!thank you for those pictures they are simply beautiful.i live in ireland and yesterday attended an art exhibition entitled “les colouers de provence”and the artist captured the poppy flowers so well .i have spent holidays in south of france and provence and i just want to hop on the next plane now!
    kathleen

    Reply
  2. hhb

    Glory be! Corey,what wonderful images, wonderful.
    My ‘first’ celebration today? The rains have arrived here in western Australia. We have beeen waiting and waiting and……….
    A gale is making our tall eucalypt trees sway and rain is falling on our tin roof.

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  3. misschris

    I love that photo where you’re holding it up to the sky!

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  4. Jeanne

    Love you

    Reply
  5. cathy

    Corey I can’t imgine how beautiful it must be to witness this. Once again,lucky you.I am wondering how the kitchen is going and am anxious to see the finished product. That would be a first too.Happy antiquing!

    Reply
  6. Floss

    Beautiful photos, and text too – thanks! We have far fewer poppies here near Toulouse, but we too have been enjoying our ‘first strawberries’ (having steadfastly ignored the imported ones which grew under plastic in Spain early in the year). ‘First cherry’ picking starts tomorrow – with a friends’ tree!

    Reply
  7. Vicki

    Simply beautiful photos Corey!!!

    Reply
  8. Gracie

    While in Castellane last spring, we established a friendship with a little owl standing every night on a tree outside our restaurant. Now this has become the signal of spring, each time I hear that sound, I smell all the Provence perfumes…..

    Reply
  9. Karen C

    My Daughter-in-Law-to-be wants to carry a bouquet of poppies at her wedding.
    I love poppies, they remind me of our time in France and Italy.
    I just hope they will be able to withstand a day of festivities and hugs.
    Does anyone know of any other brides who carried poppies? I would love to know if there are any secrets I should pass on to her.

    Reply
  10. Tamisha

    Beautiful pictures. I love having coffee and visiting France with you in the mornings. It is a real treat. And I can’t wait to see the treasures you found at the brocante!

    Reply
  11. kelleyn

    So Pretty!

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  12. Candy

    I absolutely love poppies! To come across a whole field of them like this as I was driving along would thrill me! You are blessed. Beautiful!

    Reply
  13. msmezzo

    Poppies! I stayed in a house one May that had a view of fields, and the poppies were a wonderful surprise every time I looked out that window. I tried to put some in water, but they did not last a day. Who needs poppies in water when all I had to do was look out the window? I’ll miss poppy season, but I’ll see the lavender and sunflowers. As far as firsts, first cigale? Love that sound. And, yeah, hows the kitchen coming? Can’t wait to see. Rebecca

    Reply
  14. Betty M

    How I love poppies. I have them planted in my yard and they are beautiful but this entire field is amazing. Happy first day to you also.

    Reply
  15. Eileen @ Passions to Pastry

    We were overwhelmed by the poppies we saw in Provence last summer. More than I had ever remembered seeing before. They are so beautiful.

    Reply
  16. andrea

    You reminded me of my childhood,and that the French really do appreciate the little things .

    Reply
  17. Kel

    So pretty! If you want poppies here you have to plant them one plant at a time. Like Tamisha, I too love having my coffee while visiting France each morning. Have a great day!

    Reply
  18. April

    Lovely — and to see it all right before Memorial Day here in the States is so meaningful, too. I always think of te Flanders Fields poem when I see a field of red poppies. Thank you for posting this.
    And our first — tomorrow we close on our first house! 🙂

    Reply
  19. Sandra

    Corey, thank you for sharing such beautiful images. How blessed to be able to walk through a field of poppies in Provence.
    I think I’m falling in love with France.
    Have a beautiful day!
    Sandra

    Reply
  20. martina

    That is incredibly beautiful! Our region’s tulip fields were late this year too.I brought a single pink rose from the garden to work on Monday. The first rose of the season!
    Wonderful to hear that the rains have arrived in Western Australia. National Geographic had a huge article about their drought.

    Reply
  21. carole

    Hi Corey:
    Do poppies ever make you think of them and how they grow wild in the Central Valley of California? I remember them growing alongside the driveway at home in Fowler. French lavender, bright poppies and hydrangeas…oooh to be on the roads in Provence!!!
    Makes me think of the Tulips in Holland : )
    And yes, growing up in the Central Valley everyone would say Ummmm, this is the first grape, nectarine, tomato, walnut, of the season and the feeling of pride that it came out of the garden or field is so fun.
    peace
    carole

    Reply
  22. Joanna

    What a beautiful sight–and a beautiful way to start my day. We have fields of blue Camas here in Victoria, but no poppies.

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  23. Marilyn

    OH,Corey…what stunning pictures!
    One thing I’m not clear on is whether this is a commercial field or whether they grow wild along the roadside. Either way, what a glorious site to come upon.
    Marilyn (in Dallas)

    Reply
  24. Kathie

    Yes indeed, Carole, I too thought of the fields full of wild orange poppies [Eschscholzia californica] in Northern California during the springtime when I was growing up there. Also the wild yellow mustard, and lupines…
    It’s probably illegal, but I collected an envelope full of wild California poppy seed pods on one of my visits home anyway, to plant in my yard. They sprout and bloom each spring, then obligingly drop their seeds so I don’t even need to replant them year after year! They’re also hardy enough to survive our harsh winters.
    Of course, one could just buy packets of the seeds, in a variety of shades from off-white through pink to bright red, as well as the typical orange, and with larger blooms. But for us native Californians, there’s only ONE kind of state flower!
    BTW, Corey, when you visited the Azores, were you as startled as I was to notice that a few people’s gardens had California poppies in them? Presumably either the people had visited our home state, or else a relative/friend sent them the seeds!

    Reply
  25. julie

    I remember red poppies next to my sandbox when I was a child.

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  26. kay

    too beautiful….

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  27. Beachy

    Ahhh be still my heart! These flowers hold a truly special place in my heart, thanks to a very special great-grandmother. How I wish I was in this field of poppies right now! Thank you so much for sharing this, Corey! I have happy tears in my eyes.
    Much love to you!

    Reply
  28. Lia

    LOVE POPPIES! How nice to look at this post on a day where I feel a bit down…my sweet little grandsons (2.5 and 8 mos) and their parents flew home after their first visit here. It’s hard to live faraway from those you love. The poppies made me smile. Thanks

    Reply
  29. Leanne

    Thank you Corey what a wonderful way to appreciate Mother Nature and the seasons. Too often I forget to stop and appreciate what is here around me, I too will be thinking today of all the firsts around me.
    What beautiful photos of poppy fields. We visited in autumn last year and missed all this (but oh the fun we had playing in the leaves). I truly love lavender and hope you will share this with us this year.

    Reply
  30. Gina Baynham

    As a child on holidays in France I used to make “Poppy Dollies”
    I would pick a Poppy, gently fold its petals downwards to the stem to make the dress, tie a piece of grass around the petals to make the waist, break a piece off the lower stem and push it left to right through the dress to make arms and finally use something sharp to gently draw two eyes, a nose and a mouth on the poppy seed head which of course made the Poppy Dolly’s face!
    I haven’t thought of this for years. Thank you Corey for rekindling memories!

    Reply
  31. Vanessa

    I discovered your blog just today and am I delighted to have done so! Your blog is wonderful and inspiring. I must Bookmark you! 🙂 Will be back. À très bientôt!

    Reply
  32. amber

    These picts are just beautiful. Oh, to see it in person! I bet it is lovely.
    🙂

    Reply
  33. Elaine L.

    Oooooooo, I love the red poppies! Are these like California poppies or like Icelandic poppies?
    Will these red poppies grow in California. I would love to have some red poppy seeds to scatter on my California hill side.
    ~elaine~

    Reply
  34. Mara

    You found it! I´ve been looking for a field like that for ages, and you found it! 🙂 hope you enjoyed it!

    Reply
  35. LibbyWNZ

    Hi Corey, here in New Zealand it is late Autumn and this morning we had the first Frost!!! Winter is nearly here. And the other day had my first persimmon of the season – just delicious.

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  36. Marcie

    Oh Wow! What a treat!

    Reply
  37. heyjude

    …as always you lift my spirits…no matter what tailspin I might be caught up in…
    always appreciating you…Judy

    Reply
  38. Di

    Thank you for sharing the poppy pictures with us! I love poppies – I think that they are my favourite flower!!

    Reply
  39. qualcosa di bello

    i want to run through that field & roll around in its center!!!

    Reply
  40. PamperingBeki

    Absolutely beautiful red poppies!!

    Reply

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