The ``lavande des hauteurs``
Picked or cultivated with difficulty, it is the lavender of the pioneers. And memories for the older ones. It is also the unexpected lavender for walkers. It appears nowadays, in the form of “isolated gardens, worked in the heart of a preserved nature”. Sometimes difficult to locate for the visitor, it contributes to the maintenance of mountain polyculture. It is often found in perched valleys, with marked relief, severe climate, and on low fertile land.
Examples: Digne-les-Bains area, Haut-Diois, Verdon, Grasse, Buëch.
The ``lavande-mosaïque``
It is the lavender of the mixity. It is easily identifiable by the visitor from the surrounding ridges and passes. It is an essential element of the combination of traditional Haute-Provence cultures: olive trees, vines, fruits, aromatic plants. Here, harmony means assembly of diversities. It is sometimes threatened by tourism and urbanization. It is found on the middle dry mountains and hillsides, where the villages are concentrated in the valleys, close to the axes of circulation.
Examples: the Luberon, the Baronnies.
The ``lavande-site``
It is the “lavender of Epinal”. Lavender or lavandin, combined with cereals, it shows an agriculture that wants to hold good. Thanks to the specialization and concentration of farms, it occupies a central place in the rural landscape. But these areas are suffering today, depending on the case, dieback crops, recent difficult climatic years or tourism pressure and high land. Examples: the country of Grignan, the plateaux of Albion and Valensole.
Examples : Grignan area, Albion and Valensole plateau
