If you google "wild violet", most of the first hits will be how to eradicate this "invasive species" from your property.
Eradicate this species? That puzzles me greatly, because I love the diminutive, fragrant flowers, and would like nothing more than to have them spread all over the place. I mean, what's not to like? With their simple heart shaped leaves, pretty color and their graceful form, I just can't help but be happy when they first start blooming in early spring. Stepping through their colonies gingerly, I pick a handful to bring beauty into my house. I have even *weeded* some of the colonies to make sure they remain strong (false strawberries, while pretty and a good ground cover, are no match for violets). The summer heat ends their bloom here, and it is with mixed feelings that I witness this, because in there place are seed heads, which whisper to me, "more violets"...
Three years ago, I noticed something unusual: in October, the violets put out a second bloom. At first I thought they were duped by the weather, but plants are not so easily duped. It had been I who had been mistaken; they rebloom every year. I had just never noticed it before. What a pity!
Today, the violets surprised me again. While weeding a bed of hostas (it is against a north-facing wall deprived of sun), I thought of what a boring bed it was, and wondered what I might put between them to give it a bit more appeal. The bleeding heart I had planted had gone dormant long ago. Suddenly I had my answer: a volunteer violet was nestled between the hostas. Nature is a far better gardener than I am. It was a perfect solution.
Tomorrow, weather permitting, I will transplant some violets from a healthy colony into my bed of hostas. And I will pick another handful for my kitchen window. As I watch the golden, bronze and red leaves fall, the dainty, cheery faces of the violets will remind me that spring is not so very far away.
A face any mother could love...
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