Buy violet Viola odorata

Viola odorata

sweet violet

Sweetly scented, violet-blue, edible flowers from February to March and heart-shaped, bright green leaves. Sweet violets are perfect for naturalising in a shady woodland garden or shrub border in moist, well-drained, humus-rich soil. Much loved by Victorian dandies, the exquisitely scented blooms make delightful cut-flower posies, are excellent when chrystallised, add an exotic-looking touch to the salad bowl and can be used to adorn cakes, desserts and iced drinks.

How to care for Viola odorata:

Incorporate lots of well-rotted leaf mould or garden compost when planting. garden compost when planting. Protect young plants from slug-damage using environmentally friendly slug pellets or beer traps. Deadhead the spent blooms to prolong flowering.

Growing instructions:

Keep the seeds chilled until they can be sown. Early sowings can be done in a cold frame from March, into trays of good seed compost and gradually hardened off before planting out. Alternatively sow directly into a well-prepared seed bed in late spring or late summer and early autumn. Gently thin the seedlings out to 15cm apart when they are large enough to handle.

Flowering period:

Eventual height:

0.2m

Eventual spread:

0.3m

Position:

Full sun / light shade

Rate of growth:

Fast-growing

Soil:

Moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil, or peat-free general purpose compost

Hardiness:

Fully hardy

This perennial is semi-evergreen so it can lose some of its leaves in winter. In colder regions or more exposed gardens, it may lose them all, but then fresh new growth appears again in spring.