Sunflowers in Provence.

As soon as we finished our drive around the lavender fields we started hunting for sunflowers, called tournesol in French

You may not be aware that despite the fact that you find postcards,  photos and paintings of sunflowers all over Provence, they are actually native to the Americas. Sunflower seeds were brought to Europe by Spaniards in the 16th century where sunflower oil became a widespread cooking ingredient.

Sunflowers have rough, hairy stems, and what most people call the flower on a mature sunflower is a flower head of numerous small flowers crowded together. The outer flowers are sterile and the flowers inside the circular head mature into seeds from which oil is extracted. 

Sunflowers

Sunflowers generally grow to between 5 and 12 feet tall and bloom from late June to the end of July with harvest occuring at the beginning of August. 

Sunflower field near Jonquiere

A common misconception is that sunflowers track the sun. In fact mature sunflowers typically face east and do not move. The leaves and buds of young sunflowers do change their orientation from east to west during the course of the day; once mature the movements stop.

Sunflower field near Mornas

You may not know that the Jerusalem artichoke also called sunchoke and topinambour, is a type of sunflower. It is cultivated in temperate zone for its tuber, which is used as root vegetable and delicious roasted or in soup.

Sunflower field near Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Its hard to not pull over to take pictures when you come upon a field of sunflowers. Sunflowers give off a sense of happiness, like little suns shining on a perfect summer day.

Sunflower field near Courthézon

If you are in Provence during July, make sure you stop and snap a picture or two of yourself in one of the sunflower fields you will surely pass by.

Sunflowers in Provence

Shirley's three favorite things about summertime in Provence are lavender, coquelicots (poppies) and sunflowers, especially when we come upon them unexpectedly in large fields along the back roads. Shirley loves flowers and is forever on the lookout for these and other flowers, flowering shrubs and vines wherever we go in Provence.

Unfortunately due to work demands, Shirley was not able to spend time in Provence this summer. So I made a special effort to look for and take pictures of as many fields of lavender, sunflowers, and coquelicots as I could find. I was there at the perfect time when all three were in bloom. Shirley, this post is for you.

For those of you who don't know, sunflowers, known in France as tournesol, are an annual plant, native to the Americas, first domesticated in present day Mexico. Sunflowers possess a large flowering head. The sunflower is named after its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun.

The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads of flowers. The heads consist of many individual flowers which mature into seeds, often in the hundreds, on a receptacle base. From the Americas, sunflower seeds were brought to Spain in the 16th century, where, along with sunflower oil, they became a widespread cooking ingredient.

This field of sunflowers was off the old road to Orange. I have not yet found a place where there are both sunflowers and lavender planted in such a way that you can get pictures of both. If anyone knows where I can find this in Provence, please let me know. I will put it on my list of places to go visit when we are in Provence next summer.

I have a long list of favorite things about summertime in Provence. What are your favorite things? Tell me in a comment below. Bonne journée mes amis et à bientôt. Have a great day, chat soon!

Beautiful Sunflowers in a Field

Bastille Day, July 14, the French Fête Nationale, was a beautiful day in the Vaucluse. We checked with Bruno the congenial proprietor of Café des Sports and my go-to-source for information about Sablet and surprising to us, no celebration was planned for our village.

So we decided it would be a perfect day to drive to the Metairie Neuve, the small family farm near Viane in the Tarn region in Southern France. On the way to the freeway, we came upon a large field of sunflowers. Now you know there is nothing that wife Shirley likes more than a field of sunflowers, except maybe a field of purple lavender or red poppies, so we had to stop and take pictures.

You may not be aware that despite the fact that you find postcards, photos and paintings of sunflowers all over Provence, they are actually native to the Americas. Sunflowers seeds were brought to Europe by Spaniards in the 16th century where sunflower oil became a widespread cooking ingredient.

Sunflowers, tournesol in French, have rough, hairy stems, and what most people call the flower on a mature sunflower is a flower head of numerous small flowers crowded together. The outer flowers are sterile and the flowers inside the circular head mature into seeds from which oil is extracted.

Sunflowers generally grow to between 5 and 12 feet tall and bloom from late June to the end of July with harvest occurring at the beginning of August.

A common misconception is that sunflowers track the sun. In fact, mature sunflowers typically face east and do not move. The leaves and buds of young sunflowers do change their orientation from east to west during the course of a day; once mature the movements stop.

Wife Shirley and niece Leslie face the morning sunshine from the east along with the sunflowers that surround them.

Most of you have probably seen one or more of the paintings of sunflowers by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh or other photos or paintings by lesser known artists. None of these paintings can compare to the beauty of a field of sunflowers, faces to the sun, along side the road.

You will have to come to Provence to see for yourself. Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.