Nature and Landscape

Welcome to Quercy Sud-Ouest !

The community of communes of Pays de Serres en Quercy includes 22 rural municipalities in the northwest of Tarn-et-Garonne,bordering the Departments of Lot and  Lot-et-Garonne. In the southwest of the historic province of Quercy, this territory of 9000 inhabitants occupies a landscape of transition between the valleys of the Lot and the Garonne, on  the last foothills of the Massif Central. A succession of limestone plateaux and narrow parallel valleys, oriented northeast / Southwest, engenders a bucolic countryside with Mediterranean ambience.

The White Quercy or "Pays de Serres".

These designations reflect the omnipresence of  stone and rock outcrops, contributing to this particular light , changing with the weather and the seasons. This same stone is found on the walls of the most modest rural buildings as on the most beautiful medieval facades, ressembling  the bell towers of the 80 parishes still existing in this part of Southwest Quercy. At the edge of the plateau, overlooking the valley, at the foot of the church or of the castle, around the Halle or of the fountain, each of these villages will seduce you. Hear their names sung, and when you say thank you for your curiosity satisfied, we will answer: "Avec Plaisir ! » "With pleasure! "

Quercy Southwest: a generous nature.

The country of the greenhouses in Quercy is marked by its agricultural activity. Polyculture, encouraged by the diversity of the relief, the variety of soils and exhibitions to sunlight, paints the landscape in colored plots where the fruits abound. Earth, vineyards and orchards produce the famous Melons of the Quercy, Chasselas de Moissac, Queens Golden Claude, Prunes from Agen… and the original lavender of the Quercy!

The breeding remains well implanted: lambs, calves and cattle farmers, poultry, cheeses of cow or goat. The organic farming is booming, illustrating the willingness to share healthy and quality products. The nature becomes garden, the rhythm of the lives of the people of the country and shades the stalls of the markets.

Producers and restaurateurs put a point of honor to sublimate the flavors of the local gastronomy.

Lavender of Quercy.

Formerly, the lavender of the Quercy was recognized for its specific qualities, its soothing, relaxing, hygiénisantes and regeneratingl virtues and its aroma. It was just as popular as Lavender grown in Provence. From 1950 to the end of 1970, the Tarn-et-Garonne and the Lot produced 10% of french essential oils of lavender. Recently, a few producers and a distillery has renewed this culture practiced by our grand-parents. The lavender plants are in full bloom in the second half of June. The harvest and the distillation begin in mid-July.

Lavender producers

Le Chasselas de Moissac.

Harvested from August to October, the Chasselas de Moissac is a table grape freshly produced in lower Quercy: Cazes Mondenard, Saint Amans de Pellagal, Tréjouls. Its flexible grapes, its berries, golden and nurtured by the Sun, its thin skin, its juice that bursts in the mouth when tasting it provide all the delicacy of this fruit. In 1971, it obtained the controlled appellation of origin (AOC), and in 1996, on a European level, the appellation "Chasselas de Moissac" is recognized as a protected designation of origin (PDO). Its precise specifications regulate the production: grape variety, culture, harvesting, presentation and packaging.
Producteurs de Chasselas de Moissac

Respected nature.

The Slopes oriented to the north and the arid plateaux, uncultivated spaces, are colonized by the Pubescent Oak and boxwood, hazelnut, junipers,... .

The micro-climates and polyculture have preserved privileged areas for the flora and fauna.

This varied environment on limestone allows the development of several types of orchids, as well as a wide range of flowers and wild plants.

The orchids.

Floristic exception due to clay and limestone soil, more than 20 species are present locally. Less spectacular than their relatives from tropical forests, they nevertheless show a variety of colors and a remarkable finesse. The most common are the Orchis and the Ophrys (bee, fly, Hornet, ..., in front of their name with respect  to the likeness of their symbiosis with these insects). Their particular and difficult mode of reproduction makes them in fact fragile species, protected, and very rare for some of them.