Almond Blossom

At last there are hints of spring in the hedgerows as the almond blossom starts to appear.  This is relatively late for us, sometimes by the end of January the almonds at the end of the road have already flowered and shed their petals.

David went out this afternoon to photograph the trees on the edge of the hameau. At the end of the 19th century Provence was the world's largest producer of almonds, and they are reckoned to be the best and the sweetest - by the Provençeaux!

Although there are few almond orchards now, there are still the remnants to be found on the edges of the fields and bordering the roads, they signify the longer days and warmer weather that are on their way, and I know that it is only a matter of weeks until the cherries come into flower.

We were reminded of our visit last spring to the asylum at St Remy where Van Gogh was incarcerated in 1889 and 1890 and the beautiful gardens that he painted in.  Van Gogh had arrived in a snowy, icy Arles in February 1888 and, unable to paint outside, he picked some almond blossom and painted this still life in his hotel room.

Blossoming Almond Branch in a Glass by Van Gogh 1888 & David's homage to Van Gogh 2011

As soon as the snow melted he went out into the countryside to capture the blossom against the strong blue skies, and painted fourteen orchards in his first month there.

 On January 31st 1890 Van Gogh painted 'Almond Blossom', in celebration of the birth of his brother Theo's son.

He writes to his mother " how glad I was when news came that it had ended well . . . I started right away to make a picture for him, to hang in their bedroom, big branches of white almond blossom against a blue sky . . ."