There, my friends, are the first violets blooming at May Dreams Gardens this season.
They are growing approximately six inches from the foundation on the west side of the house, a spot I assume warms up a tiny bit sooner than other spots in the garden.
I am not sure about the variety, but I think these are what is left of some remnants of Viola mandshurica ‘Fuji Dawn’ which I grew from seeds 20 plus years ago. Normally, ‘Fuji Dawn’ has variegated leaves, but as we all know, sometimes the offspring end up losing the variegation.
They are not native.
The native violets are showing leaves but no blooms yet.
They should be blooming soon.
I do love my violets. Am I obsessed with them? More so than other plants? Well, that’s a good rhetorical question. I do love them in the spring, along with the pansies and violas. By May, though, I will likely have moved on to another flower.
Though, I see some evidence of my violet obsession here and there.
I bought some old botanical drawings of them, suitable for framing.
I just need to find some frames!
These are from a book and the person I bought them from (via Instagram!) might have listed the name of the book but I only got the pages.
Whenever I buy old books about wildflowers, I usually look up violets first. Sometimes I get lucky and find a nice illustration to go with the description.
Here’s one from Wild Flowers of America by Jane Harvey, Illustrations by Irving Lawson (Whitman Publishing Company, 1932).
I could frame it but it is about 3″ by 3″ so would be a small picture. Besides, I don’t want to rip it out of the book!
And in the book, Wild Flower Children: The Little Playmates of the Fairies by Elizabeth Gorden, Illustrations by Janet Laura Scott (P.F. Volland Company 1918), they show this little flower child.
Where am I going with this post? I’m not sure. I’m just thinking about violets and thought you should too!
I have been thinking about violets. They are popping up all around the garden. Lots of them.
I planted one violet plant in a small trough several years ago and now find them popping up all around the surrounding area. They don't seem to need much of a footing to survive, even thriving in the gravel paths.
I have Snowdrops and Aconite blooming but no violets yet in Minnesota. Seeing these images gets me excited to try drawing and painting them this spring. Thanks
I have two African violets (bought), but they do very well at my window – purplish and a light grey-blue. Their blooms last a long time to my enjoyment:) Live in the forest, and between the deer, squirrel and other critters, I like them indoors, instead of half eaten:)