~Written and edited by Veronica Clark ~

Thursday 10 May 2012

Madame Duflot's Lavande!

Hello dear ones!

Friday is upon us and the weekend is winking....are you doing a happy dance?

My week improved quite a bit since my last Blue Monday rant!

Sadly, I have not yet been able to sort out the issues for readers subscribed to my blog via e mail. Hang in there please, I am busy with Feed burner and hopefully I can work it out!

I have had a song stuck in my head all week long and I just had to go find it and share it with you. It is the  "The Wedding Samba" by Edmundo Ros and his Orchestra,  from one of my favourite movies, "A Good Year!"




If you can keep your feet still whilst listening to it, well I will be devastated to say the least. So, like the beguiling actress Issabelle Candelier in the scene where she is sweeping the floor, I implore you to grab your broom and lets get moving...turn up the volume and lets go!!!





Wonderful ! Isn't it just!!

Now, my whole point  besides getting you off that chair and taking a turn about the room is this.... Whenever I hear that song, I am actually reminded of another scene in the movie, when all the visiting guests find an odd bit of lavender in a bowl in the window sill, and tosses it in the rubbish bin, not knowing its use fullness.  And only later when they are  confronted by a nasty creepy crawly called a scorpion does Madame Duflot explain that "Lavande keeps them outdoors where they belong!" I love the scene and the wonderfully sunny character of Madame Duflot.

So grab your baskets and lets head into the lavender fields to gather some lavande...




Now, I am delighted to tell you, that we do not have scorpions where I live and mostly my lavender hedge gets used by Smirnoff my Labrador. He brushes against it and loves the smell. Fortunately I did not meet a scorpion either when I visited Provence either.




I have encountered scorpions on a canoe trip down the Orange River. We normally just sleep under the stars and we wear shoes at all times when we hit terra firma. One morning I woke up and sat up to admire the view when my eye fell on the tracks in the sand around my sleeping bag. I slept next to the fire and when I turned around there were no less than five scorpions lazily draped on the rock next to the fire. They very politely travelled around all the sleeping bodies to the warm rock. There were some horrified squeals but no one was hurt and we all made very certain not to leave our sleeping bags unattended!



Apparently the Abrial essence, the strongest form of Lavender, dabbed on the walls and window sill will deter these creepies from entering your abode.
Hence Madame Duflot's warnings not to toss the lavande!




Pretty bunches of Lavender is just a delight to your senses. I remember stepping into a shop in Gordes and the smell was just enchanting.





What a wonderful spot to take our tea...



...with lavender biscuits...





There is something so romantic about a lavender field...







I would love to make this for my bedroom door.




The very well known scene of The Notre- Dame  de Senanque near Gordes and the lavender fields are just spectacular.








Wow...amazing!




Burlap and lavender....timeless.





The smell of lavender evokes many wonderful memories of my grandmother' s home  where I grew up.





Every cupboard had one of these... and the comforting fragrance wafted out when doors were opened.




I can not imagine a garden without a few bushes of lavender. There are so many wonderful varieties. Oddly my favourite remains Lavendula Angustifolia. I love the way it sways in the wind!





I hope you all have a great weekend. I am off to explore the Elgin Valley Wine Route this weekend and hope to come back with some good reports!


Thank you for you company and how about another samba with that broom???




Live Well


Veronica

xxx

All images from Pinterest

You may leave your comments below... I am all ears...

8 comments:

  1. All of our lavender must be imported as it is too hot in Texas. This is beautiful and I must say, I'm a bit jealous. Now about that music? Wild and crazy girl, you are. Come on over and enter my jewelry giveaway. xx's

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    1. Veronica these pictures are all so gorgeous! I need to order some lavender for my business. Glad you weren't stung by any scorpions, nasty things, I lived in Arizona in the desert around them.

      XX
      Debra~

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  2. Hello Veronica,
    Thank you for finding and sharing these lovely lavender images~ just in time for Mothers day..so with that my friend, I wish you the best for Sunday, may you be blessed ` with love ~Colette x

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  3. Veronica, I love the second from last picture, so atmospheric and beautiful.
    Have A Good Year on my watch list now sounds great.
    I'm running for the broom right now!
    Paul

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  4. Dear Veronica, these images reaffirm my love of lavender......I love the Marseille lavande liquid soap....can't get enough of it! When it is dispensed in any room it lingers so beautifully....thank you for this affirmation! Have a joyous and lovely Mother's Day weekend! N.xo

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  5. Feast for the eyes, such beautiful images of lavender. I always remember a childhood tune which was one of the first things I ever learned to play on the piano, "Lavender blue, dilly-dilly; lavender green; you will be King dilly-dilly, I will be Queen." (Or something like that!) You've reminded me to tuck lavender sachets around the house because the scent is indeed intoxicating yet calming. I had a chuckle over Smirnoff and the lavender hedge. Speaking of that beautiful boy, I've loved the photos of him in the pool. Is it chlorinated? Do you have to rinse him off afterward? I revisited the September 2011 piece you did on him and the pool; I just love his grin. I'm a sucker for labs and retrievers...well, any dog actually!

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  6. Hi, What a beautiful post, my desktop is a field of lavender that makes me happy each time I see it. I found you via Vanishing Threshold and am so glad I did. Kindred spirits...A Good Year is one of my favorite movies...love ALL the actors/characters and this is the movie that turned me onto Ridley Scott as more than an Alien one-trick pony.

    Anyways, cheers!

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  7. These are some of the most gorgeous images I have seen. I am going to have to pin some.

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