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Part I: Spring and Summer
As spring has most definitely sprung here in the Luberon, I thought I’d write about what you can expect to find here in Provence during the four seasons, starting with the 2 most popular ones for visiting Provence!
Spring, te voilà!
The first signs of Spring are the almond blossoms that come out, this normally happens in February, and oh is it beautiful! After the winter where the vegetation has laid dormant, this is the first sign of the vegetation coming back to life!
Next, almond blossoms make way for the cherry blossoms, starting in late March/April. The Luberon is a large producer of cherries, though we have to wait until May to actually eat the fruit! And wow, do they put on a marvelous show as well!
The grass gets greener, leaves gradually make their way back on the trees and then the red poppies start coming out, and are at their best in May! The wisteria starts showering over the dry stone walls…
We start enjoying asparagus, strawberries show up in the markets (grown in greenhouses here in Provence at the start of spring), radishes, all types of lettuce, fresh garlic, potatoes…
Come May/June poppies abound and then we get the cherries at the market. Other wildflowers pop up all over and the Luberon is alive with the buzzing of bees!
Mid- June, summer has definitely now started and the produce just gets better and better as the days go on: tomatoes, basil, bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini, apricots, then as we go along to July, cantaloup and other melons, peaches, nectarines, oh my!
Summer is hot but it does have the best produce I have to admit! And the Luberon is big producer of all these wonderful fruits and veggies, many grown organically, and the chefs here know how to use them!
June and July (depends on the season) is also the time for lavender fields showing off their blueish-purple hue! It is locally called « the blue gold ». Come mid-July the farmers start cutting the fields and whiffs of the lavender’s perfume can be had all over Provence.
(I will publish another blog post about lavender coming up as there is a lot to know before you come visit! )
As the end of August comes along, you start seeing grapes show up in the markets, it’s time for the grape harvest (les vendanges). The winemakers are busy picking the grapes and getting this year’s vintage in the vats to be fermented…
Summer weather and fruits/veg will be around at least until the end of September…
Come back again soon to read about fall and winter…
to be continued…