Violets

For The Love of Violets!

 

Viola

Viola is a genus of flowering plants in the violet family Violaceae.

 It is the largest genus in the family, containing between 525 and 600 species

Scientific name: Viola reichenbachiana

Scent: Unique, sweet, powdery, sublime

I would like to share my love of all things violet  
with you, as I adore their scent, their multitude of colors and their old fashioned goodness!

I hope you enjoy their beauty 
and the many ways in which they can be used.

 
Gorgeous
Vintage Violet Door Stop

 

SWEET VIOLET

Sweet violet is a herb. The root and parts that grow above the ground are used for medicinal purposes. 

Sweet violet has been used for ;

• stress  
• physical and mental exhaustion
• symptoms of menopause
•  depression
•  irritability
•  digestive tract complaints
•  respiratory tract conditions

 

The scent of violet is truly sublime!

Gorgeous Vintage Prints of the 

Fragrant Viola! 

Path of violets

In sunshine or in shadow how rich the loamy soil
light of earth, dream of rebirth greening
lilac buds and bluebells ring
magenta hills, aubretia spring
of burning fire
A mossy path of violets, soft my feet to wander
muscari blue the garden dew
birds to drink of leafy puddles
bluest skies go grey, drifts so swift a rain cloud by
to water quick the daffodil, silk umbrellas yellow
and comes alas the greening grass
robins hopping, weaving
Spring unfurls in flowery births
tiny violets upon the earth

CA Guilfoyle

     Aug 13, 2013

A Heart of Violets!

Knitted & Crocheted beauties!

How Adorable! 

How Gorgeous!

  Homespun Goodness!

 

How Clever!

This is on my project list. . .

Pretty Colors



A Beautiful Low Maintenance
 Pot Plant Which Adds A Warm Homespun Feel To A Window Sill





Pretty Planters 

What A Great Way To Recycle 
The Humble Tea Pot!

The Edible Violet !

Beautiful Macaroons

Yummy Violet Sponge!

Violet Short breads

 

Violet & Rose Ice Cubes


Violet Butter Frosting

Pretty Violet Cupcakes!

Old Fashioned 
Sweet Violet Syrup Recipe

Ingredients

40 to 50g Sweet violets (about 3 to 4 handfuls)
150ml Boiling water
300g White caster sugar

The syrup is great when added to icings and butter cream for cakes; and is wonderful when used in beverages too. Only a small amount is needed to add to sparkling wine or lemonade for a delectable and elegant drink.
Remove all of the stalks, green "peeps" in the middle of the violets and the leaves before putting all of the the flowers into a bowl. Pour the boiling water over the flowers, then cover with a tea towel and allow the violets to infuse overnight or for 24 hours.

Next day, put the violets and water into the bowl that fits on top of the bain-marie, then add the sugar and stir well. Bring the water in the bottom of the bain-marie to a rolling boil and then place the bowl with the violets over the boiling water; keep stirring the violet mixture until the sugar has completely dissolved. If you don’t have a bain-marie, place a suitable sized sauce pan on top of larger pan with water underneath and proceed as before.  

Strain the violet mixture through a fine sieve, then bottle and label the syrup and keep in a cool place, or the fridge for up to 12 months. Use in cakes, scones, pancakes, icings, butter creams, ice creams, biscuits, beverages, cream puddings, custards, cakes etc.

Violet
Meringues!

Ingredients

Basic Meringue Recipe

My basic rule of thumb recipe for meringues, is for every 1 Egg White to use 1/4 cup of Castor Sugar
I also add a tiny splash of white vinegar for acid to strengthen the protein and a good pinch of of cornflour to prevent any weeping- just in case there are a few stray sugar crystals

You can also add a small amount of liquid flavoring- for this 2 egg white quantity I used 1 tablespoon, and some color as well. Just make sure that they aren't oil based or the mixture won't whip. (The oil based essence you can see here, I added carefully after beating and quickly marbled through just before baking)
I also used some gorgeous candied violets to add extra yumminess and a bit of texture on top

 

Whisk egg whites until they froth, then add  the sugar, vinegar and cornflour  

Beat until thick, white and glossy

Add in your violet flavoring syrup and mix through
Spoon out onto tray lined with baking paper
Decorate with crystallized violets

Then bake in a 120*C oven for half an hour until the outside is nice and crispy, then turn the oven off and let them cool down inside it to dry out without humidity


Violet Jelly    

      

2 cups packed violet blossoms, stems removed
2 cups boiling water

1. Pour the boiling water over the violets and allow them to steep at least 2 hours, overnight is best. Squeeze the water from the violets, and measure out 1 3/4 cups violet infusion. It will be very dark blue.

1 3/4 cups violet infusion
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 cups. sugar
  Pectin (3 oz.)

2. Put the violet infusion, lemon juice, and sugar in a large pot. Bring it up to a rolling boil.
3. Add the  pectin, and bring the mixture back up to a rolling boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Remove the jelly from the heat and ladle into hot, sterilised jars. Cover, and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

Violet Sugar 

A delightful old-fashioned floral sugar that is wonderful when added to cakes, biscuits, desserts, custards, ice creams as well as home-made chocolates and sweets.

   Ingredients

Fresh sweet violets (pesticide free)
caster sugar

Make sure the violets are dry when adding to the sugar, and they are free from pesticides.

Directions

	Take a clean, sterile jar and layer the fresh violets in the jar with alternating layers of caster sugar.
	Seal and allow to infuse for a week, in a dark cool place.
	After a week the sugar can be used in cakes, bakes, desserts, ice creams etc, The violets can be left in for a stronger flavour; sieve the sugar before using.

African Violets

Caring for African Violets

The African violets are undoubtedly among the cheeriest indoor plants available, yet people are sometimes disappointed with their performance. To help you grow better African violets, Don looked at some of the more common problems with this plant and how to overcome them. 

Lighting: The lack of good light is one of the main reasons that African violets do not produce flowers indoors. Light helps feed the plants and they'll starve if left in a dark spot. African violet leaves become ratty and horrible as they feebly reach out towards the light, desperate for sustenance.

The best position for your African violet is within 30cm (12") of a window. If the window is facing north, and therefore gets the very hot sun, you may need to screen the window with a sheer curtain or blind as the strong northern light will burn the plants. 

 

Water worries: Overwatering is the most common killer of African violets. To overcome this use one of the wick watering systems available. The wick passes through the bottom of the pot and into a reservoir of water at its base. Here the wick soaks up water as the plant needs it.

Ordinary potting mixes are not well enough aerated for African violets so you may want to use one of the special mixes available. Debco African Violet and Gloxinia Mixture is a reliable mixture although you may wish to add more perlite or vermiculite to lighten the mix.

 

Fertilising: You can fertilise your plants two or three times a year. There are special African violet fertilisers (such as the Kenrose African Violet Fertiliser) on the market available at garden centres. Alternatively use Aquasol or Nitrosol.

Plant details

Common name: African violet

Botanical name: Saintpaulia ionantha. Named after Baron Walter von Saint Paul, who first discovered this plant. This plant is native to tropical East Africa. As this plant requires mild to warm temperatures and filtered light it is usually seen as an indoor plant. 

 

Varieties and colours: There are many different hybrids on the market with flower colours ranging from white through to shades of pink, purple, blue, red and more recently, yellow (although this flower colour is still extremely rare). Small golden pollen sacks are conspicuous in the centre of the flowers which may be single, double, bi-coloured or fringed and which are held aloft on a pale green fleshy stalk. The round or oval leaves are usually covered with velvety hairs and are paler underneath. Some trailing forms are also available.

Pretty Violets

 

 Violet Goodness!

"forgiveness is the perfume 
of the violet on the heel that crushed it,"

I hope I have inspired you to plant, pick, use, sniff or taste violet or violet products!



Violets are a true blessing!