Visiting the South of France in Springtime - Mimosa Celebrations

Each year we celebrate the wonderful plant that adds such a vibrant yellow colour tour landscape – the Mimosa.  However, what many people do not realise is that Mimosa is not indigenous to the South of France & Provence and was introduced in around 1850 by the British who were attempting to lighten up their winter gardens with this fast growing and hardy shrub.

Here in the South of France we have the Mimosa Trail which covers around 130 kms including the villages of Bormes-les-Mimosas, le Rayol-Canadel, Sainte-Maxime, Saint-Raphaël, Tanneron, Grasse, Pégomas, and Mandelieu-la Napoule.  It celebrates the flowering of the lovely Mimosa shrub with its bright yellow flowers which are particularly welcome in the depths of winter and give one the hope that spring is just around the corner.

Our next Mimosa Festival is in Mandelieu from 14th – 23rd February and we will celebrate with a church service, with the election of a ‘Queen of the Mimosa’ and a parade of floats decorated with the beautiful yellow flowers.

The Mimosa can also be seen in and around Provence.  The locals walk about with armfuls of the stuff to decorate houses, carts, cafe's, restaurants, in fact anything with its beautiful aromatic yellow flowers and one of the villages Bormes les Mimosas is even named after it!

Visiting the South of France in springtime is easy and less expensive than visiting in the high season summer months. The other advantage being that the skies will be blue and the sun will be shining – can the same be said of where you live in February and March?

Cote d’Azur Villas have an excellent selection of villas to rent all along the mimosa trail and booking a rental villa in the South of France is an excellent way to really enjoy our beautiful region.