Judielaine Bush wrote:Violet leaves are a delightful addition to salads and i understand the tougher leaves are decent potherbs. I think they make an excellent ground cover, although i've had rabbits denude twenty five square feet overnight.
I've a lilac too -- not the abundance of lilac you apparently have -- and did not know the flowers were edible! Mixing the lilac with the violets is brilliant. I';ve been trying to source some of the scented violets, Viola odorata. Someone said they were selling bare root plants, but i have begun to worry they did not know the difference from V odorata and V sororia. I'm going to be cranky if i've bought more V sororia. I think my seed starting skills have gotten better so i think i might have success with the cold stratification to start from seed. I'm thinking about getting a white variety and then i will be able to visually identify the scented flowers - it's such a strong scent i think i could use it with the purple blossoms providing the visual impact.
Anyhow, great blog post!
Thank you so much for the response and compliments. Let me know how you do with your odorata variety - I'd be worried, too! By the way, I'm working on my seed-starting skills as well, especially with
native plants. So far some success with Hibiscus lasiocarpus (another edible flower), Asclepias syriaca, and Manfreda virginica - but in all cases, it took sowing them in summer/fall and waiting till spring of the following year for them to germinate. I think the winter weather did the stratification.