Lavender is used and loved around the world, but the bulk of it comes from a relatively small region in France: Provence.
This video by Tractorspotter shows the journey that these flowers take from the field to the essential oils bottle. There’s a soothing pleasure, much like the scent of lavender itself, in watching the tractor methodically turn lush purple rows into compact green ones. The cut lavender flowers are then steamed to release their scent, and the steam is collected and cooled, and then separated out from the water, to make lavender oil.
It’ll be a bit late in the season right now, but if you want to plan a trip to Provence to see these fields yourself next summer, take a look at this guide to Southern France’s lavender farms.
