Viola violets were known and cultivated in ancient gardens. Today it is difficult to imagine a plot, garden or balcony without at least one representative of this kind. There are about 25 species in Poland, but only a few are important in horticulture. The most popular and most cultivated is the violet Viola odorata.It is a perennial of the northern temperate zone, which can be found in damp forests and thickets.It grows with long runners. Purple fragrant flowers with a short spur develop in March and April and are cut into small bunches.
Their beauty has been admired since the earliest times, which is told in myths and legends.One of them tells about the beautiful daughter of Atlas, who was persecuted by the sun god Apollo. When asked for help, Zeus turned it into a beautiful filigree flower and hid it in the shade of the groves. From then on, the violet became a symbol of modesty.In Greece, it was considered the flower of the dead and was planted on the graves of children and young people.There is also a legend that the fragrant violet grew out of the tears that were cried by Adam, touched, that God forgave his sins.
There are many varieties of this species in cultivation, differing mainly in the color of flowers:
- 'Alba' and 'Albiflora' have white flowers,
- 'Alba Plena' - white and full,
- 'Augusta' - dark purple,
- 'Heidi' - blue and full,
- 'Königin Charlotte' - small light purple, but growing in large numbers and reappearing in autumn,
- 'Red Queen' - carmine purple,
- 'Rosina' - light pink red,
- 'Red Charme' and 'Rubra' - red purple,
- 'Triumph' - large purple-blue,
- 'Sulphurea' - creamy yellow with an orange-yellow center.
In spring, the fragrant violet creates beautiful carpets, so it deserves to be used in shady corners of gardens, e.g. under shrubs and trees, on the edges of lawns or in flower beds between tall perennials.It is also suitable for sunny balconies, especially in spring compositions with other types of flowers.The native species is also the yellow violet Viola lutea 15 cm high with yellow (as the name says) flowers, appearing from June to August.
