Tuesday, July 19, 2016

A Little Piece of Heaven on Earth


There are many reasons why I love summer, and this is one of them - lavender. I love the way it grows, the beautiful shape, the tiny blossoms, but most of all the heavenly scent. When lavender is flowering the bees are buzzing around it, dizzy with happiness.

We are very lucky to live in a climate where lavender grows easily.


I wrote about this place when I started to take portraits of the high school seniors. It's a winery that not only produces wonderful reds but also has a beautiful lavender garden. It's a heavenly place! When I walk through it I always feel like being in Provence.


The lavender garden is nestled in the vineyards and the rolling hills of Sonoma County. The view from the top of the garden is stunning.




However, there's not only lavender. There are some spots where other flowers grow like sunflowers or gladiolus. If you keep your eyes open you can even see four-legged creatures hopping around.




And of course there are bees.




I even found a little redhead!!


I do like the shapes one can see in lavender fields depending from your view point. I was quite taken with this one:


Or look at it from above!


However you look at it, lavender is just an amazing flowering plant, both useful as an ornamental as well as a culinary herb and also used for extracting essential oils. When it's full grown it makes a statement in any garden.


There's another perk at this place - you can combine all this beauty with a nice glass of wine, lean back and relax.


I'm sharing for the first time with Through My Lens.

16 comments:

~*~Patty S said...

Looks like heaven to me...
all around fabulous!
Our lavender blooms in June here in northern Virginia.
You are making me long for California.
Thank you for sharing your splendid photos!

Willkommen auf meiner Kreativseite. said...

Wunderschöne Fotos! Fühlte mich gerade wie in Südfrankreich im Urlaub. Nur diesen Rotschopf habe ich dort noch nie gesehen *lach*
Schade, dass man den Duft in den Fotos nicht einfangen kann!

Liebe Grüße aus dem gerade sommerlichen Germany
Renate

Barb said...

Of all the blooms, I know the redhead is your favorite! I, too, love the patterns the lavender makes. The scent must be wonderful. I can't grow lavender at high altitude. I think it needs a less harsh climate. That winery has fabulous gardens!

Marie Smith said...

One of my favourite posts ever!. You can almost smell the lavender.

Laurie said...

Wow! It truly is gorgeous! Great photography, too.

Elephant's Child said...

Oh. How beautiful.
Love all of the blooms today.
Years back I stayed in a B & B. They dried their bed linen in the sun over a lavender bush. Which made for a blissful nights sleep.
Some year I will have enough lavender here to follow suit.

Darla said...

Enjoyed all your wonderful photos. Lavendar is such a beautiful plant. I was delighted to see the gladiola tho. Used to see that flower so often and rarely see them anymore

Orsolina said...

Ich liebe Lavendel, Sonnenblumen und ein Schlückchen Vino. *smile* Tolle Aufnahmen.

LG Brigitte

Magic Love Crow said...

Oh WOW!! What an amazing post! I love all your photos! I would love to go here one day! Truly breath taking!! Thanks for taking such gorgeous photos my friend! Your little redhead is adorable! Big Hugs!

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness, this is just magical. I was looking at those photos and thought I could smell the lavender. And was that a jackrabbit? It looks too long-eared and -legged to be a typical cottontail. Your daughter's red hair is stunning contrasted with the purple lavender blooms.

GreenComotion said...

Hi Carola-
I haven't seen Lavende in a long time. Your photos are very tastefully done, as always. Hope you are enjoying summer.
Have a Happy Week ahead!
Peace :)

gina said...

What wonderful images of lavender, Carola! It does look like Provence. You've captured the beauty of this wonderful plant. I think I will have to visit this beautiful vineyard. Thanks for taking us along with you!

Villrose said...

A fantastic tribute to lavender and summer!

Tom said...

Delightful!

Molly said...

SO beautiful! I could do without the bees, but that jackrabbit is adorable :)

Kokopelli said...

I must have missed this post! Beautiful lavender!