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Sweet Violet, the scent of spring (Viola odorata) By Sarah Head

Violets flower from the end of winter until early Spring, but I will always associate them with Mothering Sunday. We would go to our local Cotswold church and be given bunches of primroses and violets to pass on to our mother as a small gift.

One year, the vicar gave us a special card to go with our flowers. My sister’s card was a picture of a chancel with sun cascading in through the window and an appropriate verse; mine was a bunch of violets.

I always loved their scent. It was one of the perfumes of spring, delicate and short-lived. To me it bore no resemblance to the commercially scented sweets my grandmother sometimes offered.

Jekka McVicar tells us that in a Greek legend, Zeus fell in love with a beautiful maiden called Io. He turned her into a cow to protect her from his jealous wife, Juno. The earth grew violets for Io's food and the flower was named after her. The violet was also the flower of Aphrodite, the Goddess of love and her son, Priapus, the God of gardens.

Dog Violet (Viola riviniana)

Hairy Violet (Viola hirta)

Violets grow in many countries of the world producing two hundred different species. Here in the UK we have at least five – Sweet violet (Viola odorata), Common or Dog Violet (Viola riviniana), Heath Violet (Viola canina), Hairy Violet (Viola hirta) and Fen Violet (Viola persicifolia).

Sweet violet, is a hardy perennial. It grows to a height of 3 inches and spreads 6 inches or more. Violets have sweet-smelling flowers from late winter to early spring. The leaves are heart-shaped and form a rosette at the base from which the long-stalked flowers grow. The flowers are formed from five petals; four are upswept or fan-shaped petals with two per side, and there is one broad, lobed lower petal pointing downward.

Violet flowers are spring blooming with chasmogamous flowers with well- developed petals pollinated by insects. The plant also produces self-pollinated cleistogamous flowers in summer and autumn that do not open and lack petals. The nutlike seeds have straight embryos, flat cotyledons, and soft fleshy endosperm that is oily. The seeds are often spread by ants.

Violet seeds should be sown in early autumn in prepared seed or plug trays. Jekka suggests using a soil based compost as she has found that violets prefer this medium. Water in and cover with a layer of compost and finally cover with a sheet of glass or polythene. Put the trays either in a corner of the garden or in a cold frame because the seeds germinate better if they have a period of stratification. Alternatively, you could try the fridge method and see if you can encourage germination in a shorter period.

In spring, when the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into pots. As soon as the temperatures have risen, plant them out into the garden at a distance of 12 inches between each plant. Violets thrive best in a moderately heavy, rich soil in a semi-shaded spot. If you have a light or gravely soil, it is a good idea to add some a mulch of well-rotted manure in the autumn and then dig it into the soil in the spring.

Violets can also be grown from cuttings taken in the spring with a small amount of root attached. These can then be rooted in cell trays using a bark/peat mix of compost. If you are using runners to propagate the plant, take these in late spring and either pot up or replant in another site in your garden, making sure that the base of the crowns are well embedded in the soil. Well established plants should be divided in summer and replanted.

Violets grow well in containers. Use a bark/peat/grit compost mix and give them a liquid feed of fertilizer after flowering. Place the container in partial shade during the summer. In winter, make sure that they are not placed in temperatures greater than 45 degrees F, with good air circulation and regular watering; otherwise the plants become weak and fail to flower.

Violets have always been eaten in one form or another. The leaves are bland but very nutritious and are a welcome addition to spring salads gathered from the hedgerow. They can also be cooked and eaten as a vegetable.

A nutritious herbal salad garnished with violets. Photo: Lucinda Warner

Spring Salad Gather several large handfuls of young dandelion leaves, violet leaves and flowers, sorrel and chives. Rip the leaves and flowers into a large bowl, cutting the chives into small pieces with a pair of scissors. Add a grated carrot and apple and bind with salad cream or an oil and vinegar dressing to which fresh chopped marjoram and mint have been added. Serve with homemade bread and a selection of cheeses. You could make your own violet vinegar or violet oil for the salad dressing. The oil is made by infusing violet flowers in sweet almond oil

Violet Vinegar Pick as many violet flowers and leaves as you can and place them in a glass jar. Cut them up into small pieces with scissors then cover with cider vinegar. Remove air bubbles with a chopstick and add more vinegar to ensure the plant matter is fully covered. Seal the jar with a screw top lid. Label and date. Keep in a warm, dark place for three weeks, shaking occasionally. Strain into a glass bottle, seal with a screw top cap, label and date. Use for oxymels, salad dressings or for general flavouring where vinegar is called for. You can crystallise violet flowers and use them for decorating cakes, puddings, ice cream or homemade sweets. This is done by coating the flower with egg white and crystallised sugar. Alternately, hot syrup can be poured over the fresh flower (or the flower immersed in the syrup) and stirred until the sugar recrystallizes and has dried.

References

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