My flowers may be blue, but my mood sure isn't!

Common Blue Violet

Given Name: Viola sororia

Nicknames: violet, common blue

Hi! It's me! Did you notice me? I bet you did.

My flowers bloom early in the spring when there aren't too many other flowers around. And I'm a pretty little flower, don't you think? I'm sure that seeing me on a dreary, rainy day would make you smile. Of course you'll recognize my relatives and I with our five petaled flowers and heart shaped leaves. But you might not be able to tell exactly who I am because us violas mix and mingle so much that many of us are a combination of species.

No matter the species, though, if you're hungry, feel free to nibble. Don't be shy. I promise I won't bite (but you might- hehehe). My flowers taste sweet and my leaves taste... well... they taste green. But they're healthy! Eating only two of my leaves will give you all the vitamin C you need for the day!

Just don't munch too many flowers. Personally, I don't mind if you pick a lot of my flowers because a lot of us violas don't need to be pollinated by another flower to make seeds (we self-pollinate). But bees and other insects might not want you hogging the blooms- they need me for early spring nectar. I guess you'll all just have to share. And since I spread with rhizomes (underground stems that send up shoots) as well as seeds, there should be plenty to go around.

Hugs,

Cheerful Violet

Resources Used:

Crawford, M. (2010). Creating a Forest Garden: Working with nature to grow edible crops. Cambridge: Green Books Ltd., pp 236.

Jacke, D., Toensmeier, E. (2005). Edible Forest Gardens: Volume One. White River Junction: Chelsea Green Publishing Company, pp 336.

Jacke, D., Toensmeier, E. (2005). Edible Forest Gardens: Volume Two. White River Junction: Chelsea Green Publishing Company, pp 492.

Shababy, D. (2010). The Wild and Weedy Apothecary. Woodbury: Llewellyn Publications, pp 286-8.