Hi there

We would like to see Poppies blooming in Provence. We will be in the area in early - mid April. I know it may be a little too early to see the Poppies bloom, but if we were to get lucky, where would be the best places to see them. Open to all suggestions. I'm hopeful that given what I hear was a warmer than usual winter, things may bloom early!

Thanks so much

Wombats

It is highly dependent on the weather every year. I think there are more poppies in northern France than in the south, but in the north the prime month is usually around the middle of May. So in the south of France, you probably have a good chance of seeing at least a few poppies in April.

It should be a lovely time to see blooming plants no matter what. I hope that you will have a car to wander around.

We typically don't get poppies here in the Dordogne until early June, sometimes laste May if the weather's been warm. We also don't get massive fields of them the way northern France does. I haven't spent a lot of time in the spring in Provence, but I should think you might have a chance of seeing some in April, though probably not the fields of them you find farther north.

Poppies are generally May or early June around here in Provence. Don't think the winter temps have anything at all to do with it. If we had a warm April, however, I bet that would work in your favor.

The big fields come and go seemingly at will. No way to know in advance where they'll pop up, as it were, but can't remember a year when there where not plenty to be seen.

- Kevin

I thought even in the south, poppies were more the flower of May and continue into the summer, but not April.

Here's a photo of them around Bonnieux in May, the blogger says there were a lot around Bonnieux (at least that year):

http://www.slowtrav.com/blog/wood/archives/001556.html

If the poppies aren't blooming yet in France, head south. In the spring they bloom earlier across northern Morocco - any excuse to drive through the countryside between Chefchaouen and Fes. Wouldn't that be a great road trip, hunting poppies? No time constraints allowed.

We've been in the Luberon for most of the month of May every year for the past 10 years. Sometimes we arrive at the end of April. I love this time of year because of the spring flowers, especially the fields of poppies.

As Kevin and others have said, the timing of the poppies can vary. But I think it's very unlikely that you would see them in early/mid April... maybe end of April, but more into May. We normally can find fields of poppies in the plain below Bonnieux and have also seen them around Roussillon, Goult, and Lioux. Fields bloom at different times and may be at peak for only a week or so.

I think poppies are planted when a field is "resting" between some other use, so there's no certainty year-to-year where they might appear. We also like seeing the stray poppies here and there.

I'm actually the blogger who wrote the post Christina linked above. I've got two other "poppy" posts you might enjoy:

http://slowtraveltours.com/blog/poppies-in-provence/

http://slowtraveltours.com/blog/may-...uberon-colors/

Even if you don't see poppies, I think you'll still enjoy the Luberon in April. At the beginning of the month, you may see cherry trees in bloom... again, no guarantee of the timing. We'll be there in mid/late March for a few weeks, then back again at the end of April for a month. We always enjoy the springtime to watch the countryside awaken.

Kathy

Thank you so much! We'll certainly be in the lookout for them and see what we can see