When the month of May arrives in Grasse, located 9kms from our gites www.locations-06.fr, the fields around the town are covered with beautiful light pink flowers: this is the centifolia rose, the aptly named “rose de mai”.
It’s a hundred-leaf rose, Rosa ×centifolia, which is a species of flowering plant in the Rosaceae family.
It is so named because of its large number of petals. It is a hybrid rose bush that does not rebloom. It therefore only gives one harvest in May. But the scent of this rose is powerful and captivating. It is therefore very popular with perfumers.
In Grasse and Pays de Grasse, this rose turns heads and its price soars because Grasse manufacturers buy this rose from local farmers to distill it and then market it to major international perfumers. In other cases, major luxury perfume brands buy directly from farmers, or in some cases now have their own fields.
In May, Grasse, 9kms from our gites www.locations-06.fr, celebrates the rose with an international meeting on the theme of roses: EXPOROSE.
On this occasion, Grasse is honoring rose creators and producers.
The city becomes a garden and the queen of flowers is on display: 8,500 roses in bouquets, 13,000 rose bushes on sale and 25,000 cut roses adorn fountains and squares.
Floral exhibitions, festive events, dances, scented streets, etc. Everything is done by the Municipality of Grasse to make us dream. Traders are also celebrating and decorating their storefronts with roses.
On the Cours Honoré Cresp, chalets have been set up to offer visitors creations with a rose theme. Here jewelry, there paintings, here ice creams… Without forgetting the rose growers and nurseries who bring rose bushes and plants of all sizes.
Without forgetting Guilhem Codera, a peasant processor and distiller, (www.terroir-06.fr), who this year 2024 treated us to his rose confits, rose honeys, rose syrups and brought us wonderful water of rose, the fruit of a subtle artisanal distillation.
During the Exporose period, the Fragonard villa is adorned with immense bouquets where each rose producer hopes that their rose will be awarded an award. The villa’s courtyards and gardens are lively and decorated.
We love the famous pink umbrellas that decorate the streets, the pink carpet of the Cours, the ribbons and decorations that at every corner invite us on a journey of the senses.
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