Located in Toulouse, a city where the perennial winter plant is the symbol, the Maison de la Violette offers a hundred or so products based on the pretty parma flower (sweet and savory gourmet products, cosmetics, home fragrances, etc.) in keeping with French know-how.
Grown in pots, window boxes or in the ground, the Violet has the particularity of flowering in winter which, at the beginning of the 19th century, made it very popular: used to adorn bouquets and decorations for seasonal balls, it was a must in the good societies of England, Germany and even Russia.
Long called "the Parma", the Violet would have been introduced in France by a French soldier who, during a military campaign under Napoleon, offered it to his beloved on his return from Italy. This legend, or the peak of its blooming on Valentine's Day, have made this flower a symbol of sincere love and discreet love but also, with its large production from 1850 in Toulouse, an emblem of this beautiful Occitan city. Since 1985, the name "Violette de Toulouse" has been a registered trademark.
Created in 1993, La Maison de la Violette collaborates with 40 French regional artisans to create products based on the 5-petal flower. Sweets, teas, liqueurs or chocolates for the pleasures of taste, the company, housed in a barge moored on the Canal du Midi, also offers products that are pleasing to the sense of smell (eau de parfum, candles, scented pouch...) or to the touch (cosmetics, household linen).
Today, about a hundred creations make up the range of this House which, at the same time, invests in the promotion of this rich regional heritage: production of Violets in pots, exhibition around its history and culture, participation in the European Heritage Days or again tasting of by-products all year round and, in particular, in summer, on the terrace of the barge where a tea room welcomes visitors.
To learn more and plan your visit, go here.
Valérie from Comme des Français
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