Sweet Violets ~Tenacious & Persistant

Violets prosper in my gardens.They have almost become as weeds, choking out plants and flowers we deliberately planted...

...so much so that last year I worked very hard to eradicate them.It did not work, they have sprung up in greater numbers this spring.

This year I am appreciating their hardiness. Look at these violets springing up in my herb garden. They have survived the storms, the onslaught of slugs, crushing branches, and even peek out from under weeds that can choke a tree.

The violets in the picture above are a bit different than the previous picture, they are a different variety. You can see the tiny, dark purple plant in the foreground. The violets are holding their own amidst the bugle-weed and Lady's Mantle, both vigorous and aggressive plants themselves. I did not deliberately plant violets here on our property, they snuck in by hiding themselves in pots of newly purchased herbs.The good thing about weeding violets out of the garden is that my chickens love to eat them, so do my sheep.Even as weeds violets are useful.

 

 

I have been reading about this little plant that is beginning to claim my heart. For one thing, it is blooming at a time when there are not a lot of flowers in my gardens, thanks to the weather. The violets bloom in the hot summers, in the shade. They thrive in rocky and dry soil, wet and sloppy soil.

Violets are used in medicines, cosmetics, perfumes, teas, in cooking.Some ancients used violets to "moderate anger".I am going to try crystallizing some violet flowers to decorate desserts, and may even try some of the herbal remedies ,with such an abundant crop, why not?

I am not going to be quite so hard on the violets anymore. They can have a little space here and there.

On reading about flower symbolism I see the violet is associated with modesty, virtue, humility, calmness. I think the violet should symbolize tenacity, persistence, survival,determination. And beauty. Delicate beauty that belies is hardiness. "Winds wander, and dews drip earthward; Rains fall, suns rise and set; Earth whirls, and all but to prosper a poor little violet." James R. Lowell