Provence from Fayence: Provence Guide

L'Occitane Provence garden at Chelsea Flower Show

L'Occitane has sponsored a Provencal garden at the Chelsea Flower Show - I  know because Julie told me on Facebook. The landscape of Provence is the inspiration for The L’Occitane Garden, which recaptures Olivier Baussan’s vision when he set up the natural beauty company over 30 years ago.

The garden features key plant species that are found in the warm, sunny climes of the South of France and the Mediterranean, including structurally appealing olive and almond trees and iconic lavender cultivars. The planting within this wild terrain is framed by the innovative use of original Provençal props, a water irrigation feature and a new rock-scape material being introduced at Chelsea this year."

You can see the lowdown on L'Occitane's website.

Provence by the Rhone

Interesting way of discovering Provence - by boat. A boutique floating hotel will take you up and down and let you stop off along the way.

The Orient Express owns a "luxury barge" called the Napoleon which offers this plus fine dining. Here's a review:

"Back at the riverside, we climb back onboard our péniche-hôtel Napoléon, a floating boutique hotel that is home for the next few days as we cruise the Rhône from Arles to Lyon, the river's furthest navigable point. This luxury barge, which sleeps 12 and has a crew of six, is the perfect base from which to explore Provence and the Rhône valley as it combines cruising with shore excursions to the region's unmissable sights....with its comforts and charming staff, the Napoléon is a floating testament to fine living, relaxation and indulgence"

Provence vineyards and the expat dream

I am always troubled by articles about Provence that read like "the gentle stream of expats settling in Provence has, over the past decade, become a steady river." I imagine hordes of Brits descending and eating chips, sorry, frites.

But this interesting piece in the Telegraph is more about folk who've bought up vineyards in Provence and actually make quiet decent wine: "So, if you feel an incredible tug for Provence, a heart-achingly beautiful restored bastide, with eight hectares of vines and 1,200 olive trees, is for sale not very far away."

I had no idea that Chateau de Berne was owned by a man who started with a Fulham vegetable shop, and after 20 years of success in a variety of pharmaceutical-based businesses, from his then base in Monaco decided to buy his own vineyard. It's now owned by the man from Regus, who has extended the facilities and is now marketing Berne Viognier wine in square bottles (weird, huh?) . I have tasted the wine and it's good (to quote Hemingway).

Better get saving then...

Provence Guide: new online travel guide

We're very pleased to be included in a new guide for travellers heading to Provence. It's a terribly grand travel information website and Rebecca has put together some good material on places to go and visit. It's gratifying to be singled out. The guest Provence expert - Anthony Peregrine - has some good tips and jolly editorial: "And there are aspects of Britain I miss – Sandwich Spread, Felicity Kendall, Preston North End and, not least, the newspapers. No paper in France has the variety, depth, wit and colour of the Sunday Times or Daily Telegraph, to pluck two examples at random"

Writes Rebecca: "Go-provence.com is a site full of travel tips and practical information from someone who has the experience and knowledge of visiting Provence."

When we went to Nice for the first time under our own steam, we had to take pot luck on hotels, but Rebecca has put together a cribsheet of hotels in Nice. "The best have warmth, charm and perhaps a garden, instead of marble, gold-leaf, and deference," says Anthony.

Growing olives in Provence as a business

I was encouraged and disheartened au meme temps to read of Adrienne Clarkson and John Ralston Saul in Provence who had established a blossoming olive business. They’ve owned a 300-tree olive grove in France for 10 years, and another with 25 trees (that had to be rehabilitated) for six years. They grow Verdale, Berrugette, Salonenque and Picholine olives in the groves outside the village of Eygalières in Les Alpilles.

Our olive terraces in Provence.

Commenting on their olive oil: "It has got some very herbaceous green notes and really mellows into that rich, buttery taste you’d expect from that region." The product is called "Sublime" and they put 96 bottles for sale at $45.

Oddly, our house comes with 300 olive trees, although we have never classified them and my lazy daughters never completed their count - so it's all a guess.

Nice work. I now realise I could be earning an extra £3500 per annum, if only I did my pruning and harvest.