June at the Molino is a glorious time in the garden with long sunny days that, this year, have brought our lavender into an early bloom.

I rarely get to harvest our own lavender as typically we leave in June for the summer months to return to California. This time, however, because of the warm spring, most of the blooms were ready for cutting... and little Renzo was eager to help....

We have three kinds of lavender plants, and each variety has its own distinctive fragrance.

  

I could not help but wonder how the magnificent lavender fields of Provence would be...

might they also be well along?

  It’s a lovely way to end our spring months here in Tuscany. I’m always wistful to leave Molino, but as we did last year, I am packing up my paintings and we are heading off to Provence before our return to Laguna Beach.

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Our first stop in France, as always, is Villefranche on the Côte d’Azur.

    

Renzo’s first view of la Vie en Rosè!

The next day we were off to Provence... and first time to Valensole..... the lavender fields absolutely stunning...

The fields are endless, breathtaking to behold.... and when you do catch your breath, the crisp and clean fragrance of lavender instills such a sense of calm.

Lumiere du Lavande ”24”x36”  Graham Fine Art

The shades of the purples vary from field to field, as several different varieties are planted depending on their eventual usage.

    

  

Fields are different in the Luberon, smaller and planted amongst orchards and farmhouses.

The juxtaposition of  wheat fields and lavender is what I found so endlessly fascinating...

      

“Late June Lavender & Grain”

Provence 16”x24”

Currently showing at the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts

“Shades of Lavender, St Remy”

30”x40”

   

All this is recalled when I create my paintings in the studio... the fragrances, the sounds of bees buzzing and the warm dry Provencal breezes wafting through fields of grain... with each brush stroke, I am there again.