Larry's Perennial Violet Tour

Viola blanda
These small white violets are very hardy. They grow in the forests of Quebec, often in cool, rocky woods. The plant is stemless, meaning that leaves and flowers shoot directly from the roots. The leaves themselves are very attractive, being heart-shaped and and slightly hairy on the surface. The flowers are white with a slight sweet fragrance, and the upper petals are often twisted or reflexed back. Between the wild flying flowers and the heart-shaped leaves, these look a bit like wild minute cyclamen.

Viola canadensis
The Canadian violet has a lush appeal to it. The stems can reach 40 cm (just over a foot) and at the tops of these stems are tufts of leaves and flowers coming out. The leaves are large and the flowers too, for a violet that is. The flowers are white with black stripes for pollen guides and a soft yellow centre. This violet is very hardy. It grows from NewBrunswick to Saskatchewan (brrrr) and south to South Carolina. A form of it also grows all the way down the rockies from Alaska to New Mexico, and it is very adaptable in gardens. It is beautiful, but it is also over quite quickly and the show ends in only a few weeks in most areas. On the mild-summered west coast, however, these can come back for a few flushes of blooms throughout the season.

Viola cornuta

The Horned Violet
Truly perennial, and the parent of many of the hardy Viola varieties, also called 'Violettas'. These include 'Ardross Gem,' 'Blue Tit,' Chelsea Girl,' Little Liz' and more. Viola cornuta itself is generally pale mauve but there are also other colours and the species has quite alot of variability. It's nice to have around because it is so reliable, and having this along with Viola tricolor and a few pansy varieties can offer you an everchanging pansy pictures because the three are always interbreeding and making new colours up as they go.

Viola corsica
Corsica means that something is from Corsica, so I call this the Napoleon Violet, just as Napoleon was born on Corsica, so was this. This violet is purple in colour and the leaves are not that interesting but it is a picture of health in dry garden areas, forming almost indestructible patches of small leathery leaves. This viola seems to like it dry but has a need for fairly rich

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