ONE THING I LOVED ABOUT FRANCE: SHUTTERS AND DOORS

I always thought the periwinkle blue shutters of Provence were so quaint and charming, but did you know their color is based in practicality? They are the same color as lavender blooms, which are believed to repel things like mosquitos and scorpions.  The same goes for those luscious windowboxes overflowing with geraniums.  Geraniums are in the same family as citronella, another insect repellant, but have prettier blooms and a fragrance more pleasing to humans, and that is why you see them at most every window.  Too bad they go into decline here, just as our mosquito season really kicks in!