‘Viola odorata (L)’ grows spontaneously and is very common on the southern plains and the central mountain regions of Europe. In 1875, numerous varieties (of which the Parma violet was the dominant one) were cultivated around Grasse. Today, only the Victoria violet is cultivated in Tourrettes sur Loup, characterised by its single-petalled flower on a 25cm long stem. The stems of its leaves are the same length. The Victoria violet is very pungent - you only have to go along by the fields between October and March, to smell its delightful perfume.

Violets are grown on small pieces of land on terraces (200-300 m2) which are difficult to access by machinery. They are essentially cultivated by hand, which requires good physical aptitude and suppleness of the legs and back, and dexterity for picking and making into the tiny bouquets so typical of the village. New out-of-ground techniques on benches or in hanging baskets makes the work easier these days, and avoids the need for manual or chemical weeding. A dozen exploitations, on about 6 hectares, cultivate violets in the open air, or in greenhouses.

The flowers are picked between 15th October and 15th March, in bouquets of 25 flowers, surrounded by a halo of leaves. At the end of the season, when flowering is more abundant, the flower is picked without its stem for sweet-making (7600 flowers per kilogram). At the beginning of May and at the end of July, the leaves are torn out and delivered the same day to the perfume factories in Grasse to be transformed into the essences that are used in the fabrication of numerous famous perfumes.

Sun-filled terraces and deep soil (which also serve for the cultivation of orange-blossom, centifilia roses and jasmine flowers), winters without frost or snow, dry summers followed by mild, rainy autumns, make Tourrettes sur Loup the perfect place for the blossoming of this discreet, refined and perfumed flower.