Capital of the May Rose
With a rich horticultural past, La Colle-sur-Loup was, until the middle of the 20th century, the main producer of perfume flowers for the famous perfumeries in Grasse. Its history has made it the capital of the May rose, the Centifolia rose, the main component of Chanel N°5.
The Espace Rose de Mai, in rue Clemenceau, now a municipal multipurpose hall, is the former Cooperative of producers of perfume flowers. Opened between 1908 and 1995, it originally brought together the owners of La Colle, Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Villeneuve-Loubet and was created for collecting and distilling flowers. At La Colle the famous rose centifolia was cultivated but not only: the tea rose, the orange blossom but also two different kinds of violet or peppermint.
The Cooperative
of Flowers
for Perfume
Are you interested in the horticultural past
of La Colle-sur-Loup?
The archives of the Cooperative of flowers to perfumes created in 1908, and the memories of Anciens Collois have allowed this study that invites to share a slice of hard-working life of the inhabitants of a village of the Pays Grassois, federated to stand up to perfumers, and be proud to preserve the quality of flowers including Centifolia rose …
Everything is explained in the book «La Colle aux Temps des Fleurs» written by Michèle Sandillon and Marcel Fiancette.
Capital of the rose in the early 20th century, La Colle-sur-Loup kept the power of flowers, the power to make us better!
