The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simply charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness. (Therese of Lisieux)
Wild violets are not always violet colored. That is purple. Sometimes they are white. Sometimes they are yellow. Those potted violets inside the house can even be pink. But I’m thinking wild. Well, wild flowers anyway.
When I went walking down the creek wildflower hunting last week, the yellow wood violet is one I found. The purple violets grow everywhere in our yard and fields. They invade my flowerbeds and bloom like crazy wherever you find them. You have to wonder where they came up with the idea of a “shrinking violet.” Couldn’t have been from this pushy little purple violet, but actually that’s the story you see online. A friend of some English poets wrote a line about wildflowers and spoke of the shrinking violet. Now of course, the phrase generally refers to a shy girl.
Anyway, whether you think the purple variety is shrinking or not, the yellow and white wild violet varieties pictured here that grow down by my creek aren’t as pushy. They are much more delicate and particular about where they grow and bloom.
I’ve been told the leaves and blooms of violets are edible. One source says the leaves and flowers can be used in salads and that you can even make jelly from the blooms. Another internet site says the violet root has been used for medicinal purposes for a variety of symptoms. The root can be used as a laxative while a violet tea might help digestion and perhaps even headaches. Here’s a link to more info if you’re interested in violet medicinal uses.
I don’t plan to eat them or dig up their roots to make medicinal concoctions. I just enjoy their blooms – even the purple ones that go crazy in the yard. Life is too short to go to war against a tough little flower that looks lovely scattered through the grass. But then, I don’t mind dandelions either. I wrote a devotional piece about those little sunspots that’s posted here on my website. You can check out “The Lesson of the Dandelion” on my Devotional Thoughts page. Maybe I need to write one about violets now.
And Now for the Winners of My Spring Giveaway
My spring giveaway ended last night at midnight. I’ve picked my three winners and sent e-mails to them. So far I’ve only heard back from the third place winner, Rene from Oklahoma, who picked my book, Words Spoken True, and gets an autographed copy of Terri Blackstock’s Truth Stained Lies as her grab bag book. The first place winner is Trish R of Georgia and the second place winner is Beverly D of Ohio. I’m sure I’ll hear from these two soon to see which of my books they will choose.
Thank you all for joining in with my Spring giveaway fun. I’ll be doing some kind of giveaway here on my blog soon. So stay tuned. Is stay tuned one of those out-dated expressions like dial up a phone number or hang up a call? Can you think of other outdated expressions we continue to use such as that dial a number when you probably couldn’t even find a phone with a rotary dialing circle you used to twirl from this number or that to dial someone up to talk to? But then with all the tweeting and texting, maybe “talk to” is outdated too.
As always, thanks for reading.
Have you ever added violets to your salad? Picked a bouquet of violets?
Comments 12
I picked lots of bouquets of violets over the years.
My grandmother has a big patch of violets that grow by her garage, and lots always grew around the yard at my parents’ home.
Author
I have plenty of violets in my yard too, Megan. You have to pick carefully to get enough stem to stuff down in a little vase, but they stay surprisingly fresh for a few days.
Ann, thank you for sharing such beautiful pictures of spring flowers! These pics make me smile! 😊🌻 Matthew 6:25-33🌼
Author
Smiles are good, Emily. I may post several more flowers from my walk down the creek last week on my Wednesday post. I’ll hope everybody isn’t tired of wildflowers. I never get tired of wildflowers myself. 🙂
My sister and I used to gather small bouquets of violets fro the woods behind our home. Our mother loved them. I would like to have some to use as a border or focal point. They are like lovely. I have seen them served in salads.
Congratulations to your winners! Happy eating, writing, and reading!
Author
Most people wouldn’t want to invite violets into their flower beds or lawn. They do spread aggressively at times. At least the purple ones do. The yellow and white ones down by the creek are much more scattered. A bouquet of violets in a little vase is always lovely, Rebecca. I’m sure your mother loved the ones you and your sister took her.
I love violets! My mom had some bi-colored ones, yes they were wild, purple and white. She called them Confederate violets. And then there were yellow dogtooth violets. All so pretty.
Author
The little white and purple ones we have around here grow prolifically in the fields as do the smaller white ones, Birdie. I like your mom’s name for the bi-color ones.
I am one of those at ‘war’ with violets in my garden/yard as well as dandelions! Both are hardy! Congratulations to the winners. You always have the best giveaways! Blessings!
Author
The dandelions and violets won the war without a battle around here, Linda. I do pull them out of my flowerbeds but let them bloom everywhere else. They are definitely hardy. Glad you think my giveaways are fun. I’m going to do one on here soon just for you sweet blog readers.
Congratulations to the lucky winners! 😊
Author
That’s sweet of you to congratulate the winners, Karen.