Lavender guide: Provence and the Luberon

You do not have to go far. From the house and the terrace at Villa Bonnieux you look out over lavender fields in the valley below, with Mont Ventoux on the horizon. In early summer, breakfast comes with a view of violet rows, and the evening light turns them deep purple as the sun goes down.

The villa is a seven-minute walk from Bonnieux, so you can explore the fields around the village on foot or by bike in the cool of the morning, then be back at the pool before the heat of the day.

Leave early and drive to Sénanque Abbey for the soft morning light, before the coaches arrive. Walk up into Gordes for a coffee with the view, then stop at the Musée de la Lavande at Coustellet on the way back, and be home at the villa for a late lunch by the pool.

For a longer day, head east through Apt to Simiane-la-Rotonde and on to the Sault plateau, where the fields stretch as far as you can see and the lavender flowers later, so there is often still colour when the Luberon has been harvested. Valensole is well worth it once, but allow the whole day.

Provence grows two main kinds. True lavender (lavande fine, Lavandula angustifolia) grows on the higher plateaux, with a single flower spike on each stem and the finest scent; it is the lavender used in perfume and in the protected Haute-Provence lavender essential oil.

Lavandin is a larger, hardier hybrid with several flower spikes on each stem. It thrives at lower altitude, yields far more oil, and is the source of most of the rolling purple fields you see, and of many lavender soaps and sachets.

Every year on 15 August, Sault holds one of the best-known lavender festivals in Provence, drawing more than 30,000 visitors. Expect a market of local producers, a country lunch under the oaks, and the lavender-cutting championship, with the fields of the plateau all around.

Go early in the morning or in the last hour before sunset for the best light, the fewest people and the gentlest heat. The fields are working farms and the lavender is a crop, so stay at the edges or in the gaps between rows, do not pick the flowers, and park considerately. The fields are full of bees, which rarely bother anyone who leaves them alone.

At Sénanque there is free parking about five minutes’ walk from the abbey. From 15 March to 30 September the D177 from Gordes runs one way towards the abbey.

Local markets sell bunches of dried lavender, lavender honey, soaps and essential oils straight from the producers, and our own Friday market in Bonnieux is a lovely place to start.