Flowers and Plants
Gardening Guides
Spring Is the Season for Sweet Violets
These delicate old-fashioned plants will nestle nicely into a shady spot in your landscape or rock garden
The purple flowers of sweet violet (Viola odorata) are one of the best-known harbingers of spring. Don’t be fooled by the violet’s delicate look and low-growing habit. This little plant is surprisingly hardy and can even be aggressive in somewhat shady and moist locales. Fill out a shady garden bed, or enjoy the springtime blooms and fragrance up close in a container placed on a patio or deck or near a door or window.
Sweet violet and largeleaf brunnera (Brunnera macrophylla); photo by Patrick Standish
Distinguishing traits. Violets feature distinctive dark green, heart-shaped, toothed leaves and fragrant flowers about 1 inch wide. Purple or bluish purple is the most common flower color, but there are varieties with flowers in shades of pink and white.
How to use it. Plant violets in rock gardens, in dappled shade or under deciduous trees where they’ll receive sun during their blooming season and shade the rest of the year. They make a good ground cover where they won’t be trampled. You can also plant violets in containers.
The flowers are charming in small arrangements. They can be used as a decorative and edible addition to salads, desserts and tea sandwiches.
Freeze the flowers in ice cube trays filled with water and then add them to drinks. For a classic decorative treat, candy the flowers.
Distinguishing traits. Violets feature distinctive dark green, heart-shaped, toothed leaves and fragrant flowers about 1 inch wide. Purple or bluish purple is the most common flower color, but there are varieties with flowers in shades of pink and white.
How to use it. Plant violets in rock gardens, in dappled shade or under deciduous trees where they’ll receive sun during their blooming season and shade the rest of the year. They make a good ground cover where they won’t be trampled. You can also plant violets in containers.
The flowers are charming in small arrangements. They can be used as a decorative and edible addition to salads, desserts and tea sandwiches.
Freeze the flowers in ice cube trays filled with water and then add them to drinks. For a classic decorative treat, candy the flowers.
Photo by Patrick Standish
Planting notes. Sow seeds or plant seedlings in rich soil in a shady area that stays moist but not too wet, setting plants about 4 to 8 inches apart, in fall or early spring. Apply a complete balanced fertilizer once in spring before blooming starts. Mulching can keep the plants from drying out. If you’re buying plants from the nursery, choose ones in bloom to be sure of color and fragrance.
Pick flowers regularly to encourage blooming. Violets spread by runners, and under favorable conditions, they can become a problem. Cut them back if they get out of hand. Cut back runners and shear off the growth in late fall. This is also the best time to divide plants.
Spider mites are the most common problem, and they can be hosed off.
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Planting notes. Sow seeds or plant seedlings in rich soil in a shady area that stays moist but not too wet, setting plants about 4 to 8 inches apart, in fall or early spring. Apply a complete balanced fertilizer once in spring before blooming starts. Mulching can keep the plants from drying out. If you’re buying plants from the nursery, choose ones in bloom to be sure of color and fragrance.
Pick flowers regularly to encourage blooming. Violets spread by runners, and under favorable conditions, they can become a problem. Cut them back if they get out of hand. Cut back runners and shear off the growth in late fall. This is also the best time to divide plants.
Spider mites are the most common problem, and they can be hosed off.
More
12 Stunning Spring Container Gardens
10 Ways to Make the Most of Your Garden This Spring
See more great design plants on Houzz
Botanical name: Viola odorata
Common name: Sweet violet, violet
Origin: Europe
Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 34.4 degrees Celsius (USDA zones 4 to 9; find your zone)
Typical plant communities: Deciduous forests and dappled shade
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Partial to full shade; does best with some sun during the flowering season and tolerates full sun in cool-summer areas
Mature size: 8 inches tall and 1½ feet wide
Benefits and tolerances: Fragrant flowers spread easily in shady areas and provide spring color; edible flowers
Seasonal interest: Small purple, pink or white flowers in spring
When to plant: Set out plants in autumn or early spring; start seeds from mid-to-late summer to fall