Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Lavender Fields in Valensole

Lavender field

Lavender, Photos and Text by Corey Amaro

A few miles before the Valensole plateau the scent of lavender filled the air, we knew we were approaching the long, neat rows of lavender, and pressed ahead. Since I usually return to California for the summer, I have missed the lavender blooming against the blue provencal sky.

Lavender valensole

Yesterday, French Husband and I rode our motorcycle with our friends Valerie, Francis, and Tony on the backroads to Valensole. Being on a motorcycle, riding through the lavender fields was better than being in a car. I imagined this is what it must feel like to be a bird: soaring high, and intoxicated by the lavender scented air.

Lavender field 

Lavender 

Lavender in provence 

My friend Valerie and I took a million photos. Do you see her in the middle of the lavender field? I swear the scent of lavender went straight to our heads, we couldn't get enough of it.

Lavender field valensole 

Crazy girl running in the lavender field, I gotta to admit she was a happy, crazy girl.

in the lavender fields 

Five friends, four motorcycles: I rode behind French Husband on the mean, motorcycle machine, and I didn't squeeze him to death from fear, in fact I hugged him with pure pleasure… Since our bike is more of a cross country bike, we ventured through the rough, rocky, path along the lavender fields. God, was that fun! It was a natural high kind of day.

Valensole

History of Lavender

When does Lavender bloom in France?

Comments

47 responses to “Lavender Fields in Valensole”

  1. jend’isère

    As I walked out of the dental office this morning I picked lavendar along the road to feel better! I would think in the south, they were already past full bloom.
    Pity you cannot send their fragrance through Internet for those not surrounded by it. But your photos are nearly as spectacular!

    Reply
  2. Vicki

    I could almost smell the lavender as I read your post….what a wonderful way to spend your day hugging your man and smell the fragrant lavender. Did you happen to pick any for my lavender sachets???? How long do they bloom for?

    Reply
  3. joodie

    well, you and French Husband have got it going on! such fun
    everything you do,
    everything you buy,
    everything you cook…………
    it all
    INSPIRES ME ! !
    j’adore la lecture your blog
    Judy in San Antonio….Texas!

    Reply
  4. Kristy

    It looks like a dream. I have a thing about lavender fields. I would love to see and smell one in person.
    I have to make do with tubs and pots of the purple goodness instead!

    Reply
  5. Mim

    We were there two years ago this very week, right in the middle of those lavender fields… for one whole week. Pure heaven.I can’t wait to go back. It’s what I can’t wait to see/do again.

    Reply
  6. Kathleen

    hi corey,
    just love your lavendar posts and photos, please keep them coming.i was in provence in june so too early to see lavendar fields in bloom i think but am going to return to do just that.i wonder when is the ideal time frame to see lavendar in full bloom?
    love your blog!
    kathleen ireland

    Reply
  7. Stephanie H.

    This looks like a dreamy kind of day. I am so glad you shared the pictures with us.

    Reply
  8. Erin

    beautiful capture of the lavendar fields…and indeed the scent must be wonderful.

    Reply
  9. Catalina

    ohhhhhhhhhhhh!!
    so beautiful pictures!
    I can smell lavender and feel the joy! contagious! Thank you Corey!
    and…
    (tell French husband that now yes…it is time to get a haircut…hihihi…but he looks handsome anyway 🙂 )
    xoxo

    Reply
  10. GunnersideGill

    It looks heavenly, GG

    Reply
  11. Colette

    I absolutely love lavender. To be immersed in a field of it must be utterly blissful.

    Reply
  12. annie

    Oh the pure joy of it. The intoxicatiang fragrance. The waves of lavender. The random bits of red in the fields. And friends! It is like sailing on a sea of gentle swells.

    Reply
  13. Rabenfrau

    I almost have the smell of lavender in my nose…
    Hugs
    Rabenfrau

    Reply
  14. Star

    Oh, how fragrant that must have been! I love the photo of you running through the lavender field–such glee 🙂

    Reply
  15. Gin

    Beautiful pictures, absolutely to die for.

    Reply
  16. nancy

    oh i absolutely love lavender…..i have some just right above my bed (i picked it last year)…
    oh can you send me some in a little bag? ;))) (and slip yourself in that bag as well…) heheheh
    nancyxx

    Reply
  17. janet

    Just the thought of all that lavender makes me very happy! I went to the lavender farms in Sequim Washington last summer and while they are not on the same scale as “yours”, they certainly smelled wonderful!
    Janet@ Housepeepers

    Reply
  18. martina

    The smell wafted all the way to Seattle. Such beautiful photos! Lavender and rosemary are my two favorite scents. Can one ever have too many of either of these plants in their garden? Naaaa

    Reply
  19. Colette

    o thank you! thank you! dear Corey, since this was a sight we so desperately wanted to see and feel and smell….only we were to early…I can see the enjoyment in your photographs…Luv from-Afrique du Sud x

    Reply
  20. caren

    Oh, how wonderful! I wish I was there!

    Reply
  21. Kel

    So pretty! I wish I had smell-er-monitor! (get it?)

    Reply
  22. Vicki’s Bit-o-Earth

    Exactly the picture I’ve always had in my mind of France. You live a happy life of counting blessings Corey.

    Reply
  23. kas

    It’s lovely to hear that your heart is so happy!

    Reply
  24. ann-marie

    that is THEE best picture of you EVER! thank you for sharing your joy with us! ann-marie

    Reply
  25. Louise

    I cannot even begin to imagine fields and fields of lavender…
    I have to content myself with the two little plants in my garden…
    Beautiful post!
    Louise

    Reply
  26. Dee

    I am so jealous of your trip! I love lavender!

    Reply
  27. julie

    Love this picture of you! My daughter arrives in Paris in July on her graduation trip! I wonder if she will spy you at the brocante?

    Reply
  28. Laura

    Unbelievable! Just breathtaking….what a lucky girl you are! Thank you for sharing your extraordinary experience!
    Take care,Laura

    Reply
  29. Beverly

    I can smell the lavendar, thank you.

    Reply
  30. kelleyn

    So beautiful! I have always dreamed of seeing the lavender fields. Some day!!!!

    Reply
  31. Mary

    I’m breathing it in deeply – the most fabulous fragrance ever.
    That looked like a fun ride with Yann to hug and friends to laugh with.

    Reply
  32. Gina Baynham

    When I was newly married I used to put lavender oil in baths for long lazy soaks.
    I soon realised that it made me and my new hubby sleepy and generally after one of these baths (even if earlier there was Amore in the air) the sweet smell of lavender would make us both curl up and sleep like babies leaving amore for another night.
    As the babies arrived over the next 6 years I became a clever girl. When my husband would look at me across the kitchen table with a glint of love in his eyes but I was tired beyond words I would scamper upstairs and run him a deep warm bath with PLENTY of lavender oil in it.
    He thought I was a wonderful and caring wife and I got to curl up in bed uninterupted!

    Reply
  33. Rose

    Cory, How I love your blog, it always makes me smile. It is like chocolate, I can never get tired of it! 🙂 I love visiting you and have always meant to leave you a comment to let you know how much I enjoy it and your writing. btw your friend Annie looks just like my grandma that passed away not to long ago, I showed her pic with the sun glasses to my mom it stunned her as well, they say we all have a double somewhere in this world. Thank you for finding my grandmas, she seems as special, as our Julia was to us 🙂 I will have to have my husband upload a pic of her for me to send to you 🙂 Thank you for sharing the beauty that you create and for just being you. Rose

    Reply
  34. rochambeau

    Thank you for taking me along with you Corey!
    Beautiful lavender fields with French husband and friends.
    Life is beautiful!!
    xox
    Constance

    Reply
  35. Phillipa

    thank you so much for sharing, what a delight. Phillipa.

    Reply
  36. Primavera

    You make heaven a place one earth…

    Reply
  37. Jessie

    When I retire I really really want to have a motorcycle and travel with my Hubby! Looks like loads of fun. Kinda hard to get a side cart to fit four kids in at this stage in life! LOL
    Jessie at Blog Schmog

    Reply
  38. Marie-Noëlle

    That part of Provence is beautiful !
    Did you ride to/through Riez-La-Romaine and to/through Moustiers?
    That little peach roof at the bottom end of the lavender field sums it all up !!!
    – a delicious shot !!! –

    Reply
  39. Elaine L.

    Your post really brought me a feeling of Joy.
    Awwwwwww, I can smell the lavender.
    ~elaine~

    Reply
  40. Gracie

    You know then why I love so much riding on a bike…………..a completely different way to look at the world around me!

    Reply
  41. Cy

    Oh dear, I was waiting until mid-July to visit the Lavender fields. Guess I better go NOW! Great photos!! Cy

    Reply
  42. constance lefevre forehand

    what a beautiful life you are living!!!i have been to provence and i can still picture its beauty in my mind.

    Reply
  43. Lizbeth

    That sounds just heavenly! HOw I would have loved riding through the lavender with you. I am sure I would have ended up rolling in the lavender to get the scent all over me! I have several lavender plants in my side yard. I hope they make it!

    Reply
  44. splendid

    I am so happy that you are happy Corey ~
    what a joy life is!

    Reply
  45. Margaret Hernandez

    Those pictures are gorgeous..I just loved everything about this post 🙂 Sounds like you had a wonderful day Corey!! Thanks for sharing it with us 🙂

    Reply
  46. susanna

    What a PERFECT day! And to spend it with friends in a gorgeous setting – ahhhhh!

    Reply
  47. Emily F.

    You are so very fortunate to have had this experience. If you go to my blog, and see my ‘bucket list’, you will see that lying down in a field of lavender is one of those things I want to do before I die. I hope you got to lie down in it, at least for me.

    Reply

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