True Parma Violets (V. alba) have long stems and double flowers with a deep, intoxicating fragrance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nParma violets where once so fashionable, at great balls in Paris, at the opera, their sweet perfume must have wafted through the streets amidst coal fumes and vomit. No wonder people loved them. Nearly every western country grew scented violets in the mid-1800s, Russia, France, England, Australia and the US. Near the end of the 19th century diseases began to kill of many of the most treasured strains making flowers hard to come by. Growers learned to extract the necessary chemicals from the leaves of the plants, something that continues today in Grasse France where most cultivars just don’t produce the flowers that the old varieties once did. In fact many farmers have switched to growing V. odorata ‘Victoria’ or ‘The Czar’ instead as it produced more robust plants with half of the chemistry needed, but more plants can be grown. Who cares if the flowers themselves are not as exciting, for only the leaves are needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The finest Parma violets had long stems that were strong and intense fragrance with double flowers. Growers often grew them in pots, even in the UK and in the US estates kept hundred of pots in cold frames just for picking. Some old cultivars were said to be able to price 600 -1000 flowers a week. This all came to an end just after the first World War and the 1920s when the violet simply fell out of fashion. What was once the flower for Christmas, Valentines Day or any spring social event, died away and along with it did many of the varieties and growers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n