This picture of sweet violets was taken with my iPhone: it’s a blessing to be able to have it with me for moments like these. The heart shaped leaves are scrolled up, perhaps to funnel rain water down to the roots and the scented flowers are tiny but radiant. This is a quintessential cottage garden flower for me and I love to see posies made with them.
It’s clear this patch is thriving from all the little seedlings partly hidden under the leaves – you can just glimpse them towards the foreground. In England their natural habitat is dwindling, so I always give a double take when I hear gardeners describing these little jewels as weeds. Perhaps it’s a pride-in-your-lawn kind of thing.
I can’t imagine a lawn that would not look prettier with a scattering of violets, but it wouldn’t do for us all to think alike.
Susan Rushton 
I always love those first Violet’s of spring. Happy little flowers.
They’re such a traditional flower too.
I’d welcome these little beauties onto MY lawn (so good to be able to say that at last), but only common daisies and some dandelions flourishing at the moment . It’s looking more like a miniature meadow! I have only seen one or two violets so far in the hedgerows. This was a lucky find.
I saw them at Colonial Williamsburg last spring – I was overjoyed at my luck to see such a perfect patch.