77* 



VIOLA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



VIOLA. 



ing : a white-flowered one ( V. m. 

 alba], a reddish one, and one or two 

 double and variegated forms. V. her- 

 bacea is less frequently seen than our 

 common Periwinkles, but is more 

 worthy of culture on rocks, as it is not 

 rampant in habit. It is a native of 

 Hungary, flowers in spring and early 

 summer, and its stems die down every 

 year. V. acutiloba is a distinct kind 

 bearing its delicate mauve blossoms in 

 autumn and thriving on sunny banks 

 and warm borders. 



VIOLA (Violet}. In nature it is a 

 very large family, some kinds being 

 among the most ornamental plants 

 that bedeck the alpine turf. Even the 

 common Violet may also be claimed 

 as an alpine plant, for it wanders along 

 hedgerow and hillside, along copses 

 and thin woods, all the way to Sweden. 

 From the Violet our world of wild 

 flowers derives wondrous beauty and 

 delicate fragrance ; no family has 

 given us anything more precious than 

 the garden Pansies and the various 

 kinds of large, showy, sweet-scented 

 Violets. Far above the faint blue 

 carpets of the various scentless wild 

 Violets in our woods and heaths, our 

 thickets and bogs above the miniature 

 Pansies that find their home among our 

 lowland field-weeds ; far above the 

 larger Pansy-like Violas (varieties of 

 V. lutea) which flower so richly in the 

 mountain pastures of Northern England 

 and even on the tops of stone walls ; 

 and above the large, free-growing 

 Violets of the American heaths and 

 thickets, we have true alpine Violets, 

 such as the yellow two-flowered Violet 

 ( V. biflora], and large blue Violets such 

 as V. calcarata and V. cornnta. They 

 grow in a turf of high alpine plants not 

 more than an inch or so in height. 

 The leaves do not show above the 

 densely-matted turf, but the flowers 

 start up, waving everywhere thousands 

 of little banners. Violets are of the 

 easiest culture ; even the highest alpine 

 kinds thrive with little care, and V. 

 cornuta and V. calcarata, of the Alps 

 and Pyrenees, thrive even more freely 

 than in their native uplands, the foliage 

 and the stems being stronger. Slow- 

 growing compact kinds, like the Ameri- 

 can Bird's-foot Violet, enjoy, from 

 their stature and their slowness of 

 growth, a position in the rock garden, 

 or in the choice border, and they are 

 of easy culture in moist sandy soil. 

 Violets of all kinds are easily increased 

 by cuttings from stout short runners. 



The following are among the best 

 kinds : 



V. BIFLORA (Two-flowered Yellow V.). 

 This bright little Violet is a lovely orna- 

 ment on the Alps, where it carpets chinks 

 between the moist rocks. It even crawls 

 under great boulders and rocks, and lines 

 shallow caves with its fresh verdure and 

 its little golden stars, and is useful in 

 rock gardens where rude steps of stone 

 give winding pathways. It will run 

 through every chink between the steps. 

 Europe, N. Asia, and America. 



V. CALCARATA (Spurred V.). A pretty 

 plant of the Alps, usually found in high 

 situations, amidst dwarf flowers, and is so 

 plentiful that its large purple flowers make 

 sheets of colour. It is as charming in the 

 rock garden as in its native wilds, but not 

 so free as the Horned Pansy. There are 

 white, pale lilac, and yellow varieties, the 

 last (flava) being the same as V. Zoysi. 



V. CORNUTA (Horned Pansy). A moun- 

 tain Pansy, with sweet-scented pale blue 

 or mauve flowers of great beauty. For 

 a while superseded by the many charming 

 tufted Pansies, the turn of the Horned 

 Pansy has come again, and of late years 

 named varieties with some finely shaded 

 flowers have been raised, the colours pass- 

 ing through blue and purple to rosy-lilac 

 and white. Pyrenees. Division, cut- 

 tings, or seeds. 



V. GRACILIS. A remarkably pretty 

 dwarf species, never failing to produce in 

 spring an abundance of deep purple 

 blossoms in dense tufts. It is hardy in 

 light soil. Mount Olympus. A pretty 

 form of this, V. gracilis valderia, comes 

 from the Tyrol ; its violet-blue flowers are 

 flecked with darker and with paler spots. 



V. LUTEA (Mountain V.). The yellow 

 form of this Violet is very neat and com- 

 pact, 2 to 6 inches high. From April 

 onwards it yields abundant flowers of a 

 rich and handsome yellow, the three lower 

 petals being striped with thin black lines. 

 A large flowered garden form is named 

 Gem. 



V. MUNBYANA. One of the prettiest of 

 Violets, abundant in flower, robust in 

 growth, and hardy. It begins to bloom 

 about the end of February, attaining its 

 greatest beauty in May. The deep purple- 

 blue flowers resemble those of V. cornuta ; 

 and there is also a yellow variety. Spain 

 and Algeria. 



"V. ODORATA (Sweet V.). This well- 

 known plant is widely spread over Europe 

 and Russian Asia, including Britain, while 

 it is grown in almost every garden, and 

 flowers of it in enormous quantities are 

 sold in our cities. Its fragrance distin- 

 guishes it from other Violets. It may be 

 grown as carpets for open groves or the 

 fringes of woods, hedges, or banks. In- 

 stead of being confined to a bed it should 

 fringe rock gardens or ferneries. In such 



