Do Violets Have a Scent

Violets were Napoleon’s favourite flowers. Violet flowers smell soft, powdery and romantic, a little like iris, and are can be played up to create a very feminine fragrance. (For more about violet leaf, though, which smells green and aquatic, click here.)

Are violets fragrant?

One quirk of some violets is the elusive scent of their flowers. Along with terpenes, a major component of the scent is a ketone compound called ionone that temporarily desensitises the receptors in the nose; sniff all you like, you won’t get any more smell from the flower.

What kind of violets have scent?

• Parma violets are beautiful, relatively easy to grow, and, most of all, fragrant. …
• Like other violets, Parmas bloom in shades of purple, pinkish purple, or blue-purple. …
• Parma violets are also somewhat better mannered than other violet species.