Provence Sunflower Field

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

Each tile ships in a kraft box, tied with cream ribbon, with a handwritten note from the studio if you'd like to add one.

Three or five different vistas, hung together — a chapter of places you've been, or want to go.

Most of the photographed sunflower fields in Provence sit on the Plateau de Valensole, an 800-square-kilometre plateau in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, between the Durance river and the Verdon gorge. The village of Valensole lies about 60 kilometres northeast of Aix-en-Provence.

The Provence sunflower bloom runs from roughly mid-July through mid-August. The lavender peak precedes it by about two weeks, so a late-July visit can catch both crops at once on the Valensole plateau before the September harvest.

Mature sunflower heads lock east toward the sunrise. Young plants track the sun across the sky each day, but at full bloom the stalks stiffen and the heads stop moving. A 2016 paper in Science linked the east-facing habit to warmer morning surfaces that attract more pollinators.

The fields on the Plateau de Valensole are working agricultural land, planted and harvested by local growers for oil. Walking among the rows damages the crop. Stop at the roadside pull-offs along the D6 and D8 and stay on the verge.

The commune of Valensole sits at the centre of the plateau, with a population of roughly 3,200. Larger amenities are about 22 kilometres west in Manosque, or about 60 kilometres southwest in Aix-en-Provence.

Yes. France is one of Europe's larger sunflower-oil producers, and the Valensole plateau is one of several growing regions. The flower heads are harvested in early September; the oil is pressed in local mills and sold under regional labels.

The plateau's dryland soil favours lavender, durum wheat, almonds, and sunflowers in rotation. The lavender harvest in mid-July is sold to perfume houses in Grasse; the sunflower harvest in September goes to local oil pressers.

It's been a meaningful gift for travellers with a strong attachment to a Provence trip. The Valensole sunflower bloom is one of the region's defining summer images, and a Small or Medium in the entry or kitchen carries the memory without taking over the room. We include a handwritten note from the studio with every order.

The yellow-and-green palette and stained-glass colour-work sit well with French Country, warm Modern Farmhouse, and Mediterranean Coastal interiors. The piece also holds its own in a Maximalist room as one of several anchor pieces, paired with terracotta, oak, and bleached linen.

Yes. French Country design has shifted recently toward warmer, lighter palettes: pale oak, washed plaster, yellow ochres. The Provence sunflower colour family sits exactly in that range. A Medium above a sideboard or a Large above a sofa anchors the room without making it costume.

Above a standard sofa, a Large works as a single piece; a four-tile Mural fills a longer wall with more presence. Above a console or a credenza, a Medium is the usual fit. For a feature wall, the nine-tile Mural reads as a single composition from across the room.

Yes. We finish bathroom and kitchen installations in Dura Satin or Matte, both of which are scratch-resistant and tolerate steam and splash. The Glossy finish is reserved for wall art in living rooms and bedrooms. Specify the finish you want at checkout.

A soft microfibre cloth and water. The colour lives in the ceramic surface, slowly infused under high heat and pressure beneath a thin protective finish, so it doesn't lift with cleaning. Avoid abrasive pads and ammonia-based sprays.

Yes. Every piece in WenderVista is original to the studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. We do not license, reprint, or resell third-party imagery. The eye behind the catalogue is Reid Wender's; the work is hand-finished in-house.