The wind is rustling in the trees that spend shade, the only other sounds are the flowing water from a pond and now and then a bird or a dog barking in the distance. But the sounds aren’t the only thing stimulating the senses – the air is full of the aroma of various herbs full of essential oils. And the eyes meet an abundance of rosemary bushes and thyme.
The Provence is famous for its abundance of herbs, and many local products are based on them, such as lavender oil, prints and designs of lavender flowers in hand crafted pottery, and of course the olive oil soap, enriched with different herbs.
Nothing, absolutely nothing inspires more to cook a wonderful fresh dinner when walking around a market stand with vegetables and herbs and the smell of lemon verbena, estragon, basil, thyme, rosemary, mint, and coriander, stronger than anything else.
Lavender essences where you walk
Essential lavender oil smells waft across the small sunny streets in the old town of Aix-en-Provence, and the Ratatouille in the organic market wouldn’t be complete without thyme and rosemary either. All complete with olive trees.
I had seen lavender fields in the Provence, around Avignon, before, but when I returned now and spent most of my time around Marseille and Aix-en-Provence, I was still overwhelmed in the best way by the joie de vivre that herbs spread here, next to wine, and good food. I had never seen before such an abundance of herbs in an organic store, nor ready to pluck in the forest as here in the Provence, and it is only May.
In addition, there is the world famous lavender oil, which is mostly produced in France, while it can be found in other places, too, such as Bulgaria. But, …. it is just not the same.
The Provence, home of herbs
Where is the Provence you ask? The Provence is an area in the South of France, close to the Meditarraenean sea, while the prominent lavender fields are a bit in land, around Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, Arles, and other places. It is a place of long history and culture, known to be the home of painters such as Paul Cézanne and prominent figures such as Nostradamus. The paintings of horses in the Carmague, an area in the South of the Provence near the sea, are most famous. In Avignon, you also find the Pope Palace, the pont d’Avignon (an ancient, Roman bridge), and the whole area is full of castles, wineries, and romantic looking country homes.
Herbes de Provence in the kitchen
For me, cooking is most fun and most rewarding when different herbs can be added. To me, it is also a real luxury to have those available. For example, when living in different places, I had been searching forever for French Estragon, be it on a market, or in form of a plant or even seeds. In Aix-en-Provence, I walked into an organic store, and there were huge bundles of Estragon right in front of me … abundant and cheap.
Not only do I enjoy the aroma and the smell of herbs, but of course, I also know about their benefits, and since being able to add a lot of them to the dinners I have cooked since arriving in France, I feel more energized, and more healthy. Of course, that could also just be in my mind, … but that is the beauty of using herbs, they have an effect on your entire being, not only on the taste buds.
Herbes de Provence – which are they?
Herbes de Provence is a mixture of dried herbs considered typical of the Provence region of southeastern France. Originally, this term simply described herbs used in typcial recipes of the Provence. But since the 1970ies, commercial blends started to be sold under this name by companies.
What you find nowadays in stores under the label “herbes de Provence” therefore are most often savory, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, and oregano. Lavender leaves are also sometimes included in fancier mixtures. The herb mixture is typically used with grilled foods and stews, such as the famous Ratatouille – a VEGAN vegetable stew famous for the Provence.
Herbes de Provence as a blend are famous, and available in other parts of the world, too, of course. Indeed, in commercial blends, you will find herbs that aren’t of French origin.
That being said – the traditional blend of herbs cannot be missed in the kitchen of the Provence. You need to differentiate between the herbs of Provence blend for the kitchen, and herbs from the Provence in general.
Herbs of Provence list – not the commercial blend
Lavender
Rosemary
Thyme
Estragon
Oregano
Marjoram (wild oregano)
Savory
Where do herbs of Provence grow best?
These herbs just thrive in the climate of the Provence, they like sandy, not clay soil, and a lot of sun. They can go a long time without water, in the contrary, too much rain or watering is bad for them.
This gives you hints already for how to place herbs of Provence in your garden. Choose a very sunny spot, and add sand to the soil, as herbs such as Lavender, Rosemary and thyme need very good drainage. They grow nicely in pots and in stone gardens, as well.
It depends on your own climate how the Provence herbs turn out in your garden. In Northern, rainy climates, rosemary and thyme won’t grow as big as in sunny places, where Rosemary can grow into large bushes. Lavender is most easy to grow, just don’t water it too much.
Flowers of French herbs, lovely for Potpourries
Both Rosemary and Thyme bloom purplish-blue, too, like lavender, but they normally aren’t grown as prominently for that reason as Lavender is. Lavender flowers are just amazing, they have an amazingly strong wonderful smell and the color is uplifting every garden.
For decorative gardening reasons, there are many different types of Lavender nowadays, but the original one in the Provence, used for essential lavender oil, and then also for soaps, is Lavandula Angustifolia.
Essential oil content in French Herbs
What gives all these Herbs of Provence their strong smell are the high content of essential oils in all of them. In fact, Rosemary, Thyme and Lavender oil are my most go-to oils of all, for health reasons.
The plants contain those essential oils to repel insects and other bad actors, … many animals stay away from them. You can test this by holding lavender flowers in front of a rabbit’s nose … Animals know instinctively that they shouldn’t eat much of herbs that contain a lot of essential oils.
Rosemary, Thyme, and Lavender make great teas, too. While you can use fresh twigs, the aroma is stronger when you use dried herbs. Make sure to cover your tea while steeping, so that the essential oils won’t escape.
Traditional uses in cosmetics of Herbs of Provence
In addition to health and kitchen uses, herbs of Provence are found as decorative elements everywhere and then also in the bathroom, in form of additions to soaps, bath gels, lotions, and so on.
They don’t only smell really good but they have great properties for the skin, too, esp. Lavender is antiseptic, can be mixed with a base oil such as almond oil or olive oil to soothe sunburned skin, and improves the skin overall.
Aroma therapy and other uses of Lavender
I am talking now more about Lavender than of other herbs because of its strong, well liked aroma that is at the same time a beloved smell AND has strong properties. Therefore, you find Lavender also in herb sachets, and potpourries, which are used to keep linen fresh, but also free from pests.
For aroma therapy you can add Lavender oil together with a base to your bath, or put it into your aroma lamp. This goes for Thyme and Rosemary oil, too, but the smell is a personal taste. I use Thyme and Rosemary oil for colds and Rosemary as well for low blood pressure. Learn more about this in the aroma therapy sections of this website or in the courses.
My dear reader, this was just a short introduction, for the use of each herb, please read up on their individual pages. 🙂
