Very often when one googles for flowers in summer in Provence, images of lavender and sunflower fields fill the pages. So it’s only natural to any non-local including myself that sunflowers are just springing up anywhere in Provence in the peak of summer. So here’s the reality check, for sure lavender fields aren’t everywhere, and with sunflowers, they are even rarer. But after chancing upon these sunflower fields, I decided to do some research so that if you are planning on finding these happy flowers the next time you visit Provence, at least you have a game plan.
First sightings of sunflower fields in the area of Cadenet.
Honestly, given it was our last day in Provence, we had pretty much almost given up on seeing any sunflower fields up close. On this very fateful day, we drove up to Cucuron from Aix En Provence for one of my best meals at La Petite Maison (yes that will be coming up in my post on best Provence restaurants), afterwhich we headed to the modern centric wine estate Chateau La Coste in Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade.
It was probably mid way in this 30 minutes drive that we suddenly saw sunflower fields on our right, someway in the area of Cadenet along the main road. We all shouted in happiness in seeing these happy flowers. Oh I am thinking how my fellow Care Bear – Friend Bear would be so happy to see this, since sunflower is the icon on her tummy.
Breathtaking views of the sunflowers.
Safety first, since we literally stopped on a highway, we parked on the road shoulder before jumping into the sunflower fields. I have never seen such gigantic sunflowers before, some the size of my head, which is quite amazing since I really do have a rather large head as you know. When I read up on sunflowers in Provence, they are known to grow up from anything from 5 to 12 feet tall during the summer season when they are in full bloom. Wow, these sunflowers we saw, aren’t even that tall but already looked so impressive.
Wowee, sunflowers as big as my face!
When researching online, another area known for viewing of sunflowers are on the route from Carpentras via the D942 road to Avignon. So if you are heading to this area in July, it’s a good bet for spotting sunflowers.
For us, the best part about seeing these sunflower fields in Cadenet was that it was just us and no tourists! So we had plenty of time to snap tons of photos.
Just trying to avoid the bees in the fields.
Seeing these sunflower fields on our last day coupled with seeing the lavender fields at Abbey De Senanque earlier in the week, felt like we had really completed our checklist for our virgin trip to Provence. Though the heat was unbearable, the gorgeous pictures and views made up for our suffering for sure.
Sunflower and me = Happy!
