The long wait to see the spring woods open up and produce new wildflowers was worth it. Quickly, as snow melted, the next phase began on the same forest floor that was covered by a snowpack lasting ...

Violets Part 2. Read Part 1 here. I thought that writing about violets would be a simple thing to do; everyone “knows” what they look like, they are “blue or purple and have heart-shaped leaves,” but ...

In grammar school, Billy slipped me a Valentine and ran away. "Roses are red. Violets are blue. Limburger stinks, and so do you." Speaking of odor, little Billy's violet was the Viola odorata, the ...

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice. Sweet violets, viola odorata, are now blooming in lovely large pools of purple on lawns and ...

Pansies are such cheerful and easy-going bedding plants that the other members of the viola family often get overlooked. While pansies – whose Latin name is Viola x wittrockiana – may have the edge ...

Roses may be red, but violets are not really blue. More mauveish, really. However, the sweet violet, Viola odorata, is certainly deliciously scented and, in its own, much more delicate way, as lovely ...