By Sylvia Arad | Submitted On Could 07, 2010
To venture to Provence in July is always to be missing in a purple colored sea. Oceans of lavender everywhere - in patches, in waves, in excellent rows, discipline soon after subject - the hillsides in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence are daubed in blue, mauve, gray and violet by fantastic swathes of lavender in bloom. This really is harvest time in Provence's lavender regions - the tractors are rolling, the distilleries steaming and lavender festivals are in complete swing.
Lavender, the emblem of Provence, continues to be increasing below endlessly. Its official cultivation nevertheless is rather new, and has provided increase to lavandin; a hybrid Variation used much more for industrial reasons.
"Fantastic" or real lavender is developed for its necessary oils. To qualify with the highly coveted AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) - France's highest stamp of approval - the lavender should satisfy really rigid standards, its generation restricted to 284 villages and cultivated in locations earlier mentioned 800 m during the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the Drome and Vaucluse. Useful for perfumes, in aromatherapy and medicinally, it must also meet olfactory tests, and special harvesting and distillation processes.
Under the blazing sun, this delicate plant is harvested by hand by families steeped in its traditions, who've cultivated it for generations. It's then dried for days prior to getting distilled. The distillation method includes passing steam throughout the dried flowers, which can be gathered in bunches within a nevertheless to extract their crucial oils. Different strategies are employed with regards to the lavender's use. To create 1 Liter of crucial oil, 287 lb. of fantastic lavender is employed; for perfumes, the process is much more complicated taking over 2200 lbs. of lavender to yield three gallons of complete pure oil.
Provence Lavender State Presents Good Climbing Holidays and Biking Routes
Lavender conjures up spectacular vistas of blue fields, punctuated by crimson poppies, a patchwork of gold grain and occasional strands of oak and pine which stretch in to the hallucinatory blue horizon. This region is a biking and mountaineering paradise - biking routes abound for people who prefer to enterprise off- the-crushed-path on the "Route de Lavande" and hiking holidays to the "Grande Randonne" trails are an adventurer's desire. The imposing Luberon Mountains and Vaucluse basic serve as the backdrop towards the magnificent panoramas of ancient villages perched on hillsides; with the scents of rosemary, thyme, savory instead of the very least, lavender.
The "Route de Lavande" sales opportunities website visitors by way of swathes of fragrant fields, gardens, distilleries, museums and villages. The numerous festivals, the largest hosted by Sault, show lavender floats and shows and present not merely bouquets and sachets, but all types of lavender-related product - creamy honey, scented candles and in some cases aprons. Dining establishments supply lavender impressed menus and spas offer thermal baths Prestige Lavender Fields and massages with lavender oil.