Sweet Violet’s deep blue or white flowers grace the earth as early as January when there is rain and cold winds that blow in from the ocean. Taking a quick peep into my quiet, dormant garden in winter reveals a small carpet of these lovely, small, purple flowers. I am amazed that this seemingly delicate flower can endure the cold at this time of year. Such is nature that she would send us this beautiful reminder of the promise of spring, the promise of joy, the promise of youth.

This little flower has 5 petals arranged in a way to reveal the inner pistil and stamens welcoming the very first butterflies of the year. This perennial plant does not rely just on the butterflies for the reproduction of its species, it also grows a horizontal stem. This creeper anchors the plant at its nodes and creates a beautiful ground cover of heart shaped leaves. It enjoys partial shade and moist, rich earth.

This plant is native to Europe, Asia and Northern Africa and everywhere else in the world it has been introduced. It is easy to propagate from runners. The best time to do this is early spring and you can leave 4-5 inches between plants. In my garden it is not displaying aggressive tendencies and it appears easy to manage as a ground cover.

The medicinal and culinary uses of Sweet Violet were greatly thought of in the Classical world. In old recipe books dating from the 16 to the 19 century one could find this recipe: “Violet leaves at the entrance of Spring, fried brownish and eaten with orange and lemon juice and sugar is one of the most agreeable of all herbaceous dishes”.

The flowers and leaves can be harvested in spring and the roots in fall. The leaves can be added to salads and soups providing nourishment in the form of minerals and vitamins especially Vit C. Use the flowers in salads or press them in books preserving their delicate beauty. They can also be made into syrup to heal sore throats. Sweet Violet leaf tea can be used for treating chest colds, coughs and congestion. It acts as an expectorant in the lungs bringing up hot, yellow mucus while helping to cool dry throats and to shrink swollen glands. The leaves can be munched and made into a “spit poultice” and applied directly onto boils, burns and hot wounds. It has a wonderful cooling effect and alleviates pain. One can use it in the same manner after a dental visit, applying it to the gums to reduce inflammation. Frequent applications of this to canker sores could make them disappear. Sweet Violet leaf tea helps to alleviate headaches as well as reducing premenstrual breast tenderness. It can reduce the soreness of fibrocystic breasts and gently dissolve over time breast cysts and tumors benign and malignant. The tealeaves can be applied directly to the breasts for the same purpose. The flowers and leaves are used in British herbal medicine to treat breast and stomach cancer. Sweet Violet has this wonderful gentle ability to dissolve hardness and to soothe and comfort over time. 

In the heat of summer we must remember to keep the growing Sweet Violets moist and shady so that we can look again for the flowers in the cold, dormant times of the year.

“The sweet fragrance of youth – it abides with us always in our hearts.”

                                        (A message from Sweet Violet)