De Parme –
See ‘Duchesse de Parme’.
Dowager
Lady Williams Wynn –
Wynn, England. (1900)
A sport from ‘Conte di Brazza’ with pale blue
flowers.
Duchesse
de Parme –
Origins unknown.
(1870)
Large lavender-blue flowers.
Good stems.
Delicious perfume but not as strong as ‘Marie Louise’
Probably named after Marie Louise, Napoleon
Bonaparte’s second wife who was Duchess of Parma.
Duchess of
Edinburgh –
Origins unknown.
(1877).
Very light ground, with each petal tinted with mauve
and bordered with azure-blue. Strong
perfume.
D’Udine –
Origins
unknown.
The flowers of this particular variety are blue to
purple in colour, shading to white at the center. Good sized stems. Parmas’ delicious scent.
Named after the region in Italy that forms part of
the chain in the Parma story.
It is believed that the Parma violet was first
introduced in Italy by the Bourbon royal family after obtaining it in Portugal
during the early 17th century.
Arriving first at Naples, it was then taken to Parma --from where the
name for this type of violet
originated--. In the latter part
of the 19th century it was taken to Udine by Conte Di Brazza, who
was responsible for introducing a number of choice cultivars.