Provence has undergone a transformation in the last week, with a dramatic shift in the colour spectrum to green. Everything is green. Fields that were brown in winter, trees that were bare, vines that looked spectral. The 35-metre-high plane tree next door to us, supposedly the largest in Provence, now makes a sound like a vast waterfall when the wind blows, as its 23 million leaves reveal the power of many. The greenness is so invasive that familiar places become unfamiliar. Roadsides look completely different and whole houses disappear behind a screen of foliage.
With all this green, what you really notice and feel grateful for is the odd spot of non-green provided by the humble poppy. A simple weed, unremarked by natives, downtrodden and ignored. But everywhere you look in this part of Provence, there are bright red poppy heads bobbing at the bottom of the vista. It’s this contrast that makes the scenery ‘sing’, instead of overwhelm. So here’s to Papaver rhoeas, the poppy of Provence.
Wait -- the poppy is a *weed*? Seriously?
Why can't I get weeds like that to grow in my garden?
Posted by: vrooje | May 20, 2006 at 09:45 PM