Crimson & Olive & Lavender

Crimson is the coquelicot — the deep vivid crimson of the French coquelicot (French: coquelicot — the word derives from coq — 'rooster' — because the red of the poppy flower was compared to the red of a rooster's comb; the English word 'coquelicot' entered the English language as a color name in approximately the 18th century, describing the specific vivid orange-red-to-crimson of the field poppy) — Papaver rhoeas, the field poppy, growing in the olive grove margins and along the dry-stone wall (mur de pierres sèches — the most characteristic landscape feature of the Luberon, where every field and terraced hillside is bounded by the most elaborately dry-laid limestone walls) of the Luberon hillsides. The coquelicot in Provence: while the most internationally celebrated poppy landscape is the Andalusian spring (as described in the Crimson-Olive-Sky Blue entry), the Luberon's poppy flowering (approximately mid-April through May, slightly earlier than Provence's lavender season) creates a specific Provençal spring color experience — the vivid crimson poppies against the pale limestone and the silver-grey olive groves, before the lavender fields turn purple. Olive is the olivier — the dark muted olive of the Provençal olive grove (oliviers — olive trees — which form the most characteristic and most historically persistent landscape element of the Luberon hillsides). The Luberon's olive trees: cultivated continuously since Roman times (the Romans introduced olive cultivation to the south of France — Provence — during the conquest of the Narbonensis province in the 2nd century BCE, and the largest and oldest olive trees of the Luberon are direct descendants of Roman-period cultivation), the Provençal olive groves are among the most historically ancient cultivated landscapes in France. The specific silver-grey-to-olive of the Provençal olive: the Luberon's most cultivated olive varieties (Aglandau — the most important Provençal variety, producing the characteristic 'fruity' and slightly bitter Haute-Provence olive oil; Verdale des Bouches-du-Rhône; and Salonenque) all have the characteristic silver-green leaf and the gnarled, deeply fissured grey-to-silver bark of the mature Mediterranean olive — creating the specific dark muted olive tone of the Luberon grove in the intense sunlight of the Provençal summer. Lavender is the lavender field — the pale medium lavender of the Lavandula angustifolia (fine lavender — lavande fine or lavande vraie — 'true lavender') fields of the Luberon highlands. Lavandula angustifolia: the most important commercial lavender species — cultivated at altitudes above approximately 800 meters (where the temperature range and soil conditions produce the most aromatic oil — the most valued by the perfume industry). The Luberon lavender: the most celebrated lavender landscapes in the Luberon are centered on the Plateau de Valensole (to the east of the Luberon massif — the largest lavender-producing plateau in France) and the Luberon highlands around Apt and Sault — where the lavender fields (typically 1-3 hectares, separated by narrow service roads and encircled by dry-stone walls) create the most famous 'purple carpet' imagery in French landscape photography.