Photo: Fragrant Lavender

Fragrant lavender fields near the Pont St Benezet on the Rhone River in Avignon, Provence in France, Europe.

The fragrant lavender fields thrive in the calcareous soil and temperate climate of Provence in France, as can be seen here near the Pont St Benezet (of 'sur le pont d'Avignon' fame) on the Rhone river, in Avignon, France. Although these fragrant lavender fields can be found all over Provence, the plant was not originally found in the area.Lavender plants were imported by local perfume manufacturers around 1920, but in many gardening books Lavandula stoechas, subspecies aurantica, is now considered 'native to the Mediterranean'. The fragrant lavender harvest is usually from July to September, depending on the location of the fields in Provence.After drying for two or three days, the lavender is shipped off to the distillery. It takes 100 kilograms of fragrant lavender blossoms to make one litre of lavender essence. The fragrant lavender plant and sage and rosemary all belong to the mint family. ... continue below the picture...

... Lavender field backdropped by the Pont St Benezet and the Chapelle St Nicolas by the Rhone River, Avignon, Vaucluse, Provence, France, Europe.