Several years ago a friend from Bisbee gave me a start of the plant Sweet Violet - Viola odorata. I planted it under a big rose bush in my rose garden. Here it receives very little sun all summer long, in spring, fall and in winter it gets full sun. The charming little plant took right off and thrived ever since. In spring and in fall and most of the winter the plant is covered with pretty little flowers in deep violet nestled between hart-shaped, dark green leaves. The plant spreads by above ground runners and it reproduces by seeds, it has the loveliest perfume. It has taken over my rose garden, got out of the raised beds and has self seeded itself into the compacted heavy clay soil of the little patio there. It happily sits under the chairs and the little tables where it gets practically no irrigation but plenty of shade in summer and maybe a little run off. I already spotted it in the drier parts of my garden. What an invasive little plant and quite drought tolerant, but in my garden I don't mind invasive plants, every plant I do not have to plant is a bonus. There are pink and white varieties of that plant but I have never come across them yet. Violets and Pansies are perennials and belong to the genus of Voila and come from places with cool summers. They have two kinds of flowers, those which are showy and can be pollinated and set seed and some on short stems one hardly noticed. These are cleistogamus, that is Greek for closed mouth and set seed without being pollinated. |
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