Routes de la lavande

Is there anything more beautiful than a lavender field in bloom? In the emblematic landscapes of the Regional Natural Park of the Baronnies Provençale, straddling the Drôme, the Alpes de Haute-Provence and the southern Hautes-Alpes... the lavender fields appear like a treasure in the heart of an unspoiled nature.

Do not expect vast expanses of blue disappearing into the distance like on the plateau of Valensole; here many small plots of beautiful lavender fields are scattered throughout the landscape as if a painter had dotted here and there a few blue strokes in his painting.

Human-sized agriculture; small farms adapted to the hills, that shape the landscape with diverse crops.

 

Products on sale: essential oils, soaps, sachets of lavender at the Tourist Office of Orpierre +33 (0)4 92 66 30 45, Rosans +33 (0)4 92 66 66 66, Serres +33 (0)4 92 67 00 67, Laragne +33 (0)4 92 65 09 38 and Sisteron +33 (0)4 92 61 36 50 or on our online shop.

 

Discover the precious little blue flower...

We will try to answer the most frequent questions that are asked about lavender. You can also find useful information Routes de la Lavande website.

On the sunny slopes of the mountain between Orpierre and Laborel, on a beautiful limestone plateau towards St-André de Rosans or near Lachau at the end of the Gorges de la Méouge the little blue flower has decorated the countryside for ever. It is well adapted to the succession of mountains, gorges and valleys; it likes altitude and the dry soils and sunny slopes. Lavender a bit like a vine is a reflection of its ‘terroir’; our lavender has a perfume of its own; the altitude, the amplitude of high temperatures, the peculiarities of each soil give it different fragrances. Let your senses discover these seductive scents!

 

Formerly intensively cultivated on the whole area, its culture has been a bit left out, but lately for some years, it is relaunched by the producers. You will meet some pretty purple furrows near Laragne, Ribiers, Saléon that intensify between Orpierre and Laborel and up to St-André de Rosans, Lachau and Col St-Jean or on the warm lands around Rosans, of course the closer you approach the Drôme Provençale.

Many questions arise that do not really have a precise answer: When can we see the fields in bloom? When is lavender harvested?

 

The answer is that it is very variable, of course first related to weather conditions. Overall the lavender fields are in bloom between mid-June and mid-August, depending on the altitude and the exposure.
…And the harvest is done when the lavender is in bloom!
The picking can spread a little; for your pleasure the lavender farmers sometimes leave a field for a “picking event” in an open field! It's a real pleasure to see the field in bloom and to learn the precise gesture of the hand that guides the sickle to make a pretty bouquet of lavender.