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VIOLETS 
Edith W. Pawla 
Once you start a bed of violets you have a 
thrill for there are around 80 varieties grown 
in America and over 300 varieties over the 
earth. With a few varieties you can have 
blooms all year. Some grow nicely in pots 
and never lose their foliage. There are violets 
that like sun, shade, rocks, sand and clay. 
They grow from Alaska to the tropics and 
from the high mountains to the desert. 
There are so many intensely interesting 
shapes, sizes and colors—variations in leaves 
and blossoms. Leaves long, broad, lanced, 
pointed, fat, jagged, saw-edged and they grow 
and multiply in many ways, such as by joints, 
runners, divisions, seeds, roots sections and 
even grow from a leaf. 
Many people think a violet is just a small 
purple blossom, but there are blue, white, 
pink, yellow, lavender, cerise, orchid, silver, 
variegated and two-tone violets with shaded 
petals — pointed round, oval, cupped, flare, 
double, semi-double and chopped or fringed. 
Violets can be eaten and used in so many 
ways—tea, candy, salad, greens, and in medi- 
cine the leaves, blossoms and roots are used. 
They have been mentioned as medicinal herbs 
in old books back in the 15th Century. 
A little spot in your garden given to violets 
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pays big dividends. First, it is fragrant, color- 
ful with abundance of bloom and it takes care 
of itself. Once planted you have them for 
years without replacing. Yes, they will take 
care of themselves, but with little care on your 
part they respond at once. 
Violets love lots of water when blooming, 
and if the soil is kept loose and plants not 
crowded you will see your labor is returned 
100 fold with more blossoms and big stems. 
Oak leaf mold is their natural food—it can’t 
hurt them no matter how much you use as 
it helps to keep the roots cool and aerated. 
It is well to dig them up every two or three 
years, pull them apart and put back the nicest 
young plants in new soil, which has been 
spaded deeply—I would say two spades deep— 
it helps them to winter because the roots go 
deep. The leaf mold also makes a blanket to 
keep their crown warm in winter and cool in 
summer. Wood ashes sprinkled around is 
good to help keep bugs and snails away. 
Violets are the expression of gentleness and 
love. They are properly used for Births, 
Graduations, Parties, Balls, Dinners, Wed- 
dings, Lovers, the bed of the sick, the desk of 
the writer, and the last tribute to the loved. 
Many beautiful legends are written about 
the violet. They also rank third in commer- 
cial use. The Marie Louise and De Parme are 
the favorites for shipping, also for fragrance 
and endurance. 
I have over 100 varieties of violets, many 
from the remote parts of the world, also na- 
tives of many states. There are 80 varieties 
of violets in the western hemisphere, many 
more abroad. Scope for a hobby or a most 
interesting garden. 
DON’T WORRY if the first blossoms are 
small, pull them off; the second will be large. 
Then in the fall little seed pods come up out 
of the ground. 
After they get established, or the second 
season, you really will see what they can do. 
In transplanting it is well to cut all the 
leaves back to 3 or 4 inches from the crown 
especially the large varieties — they recover 
much sooner. 
NOW WE WISH YOU HAPPY GAR- 
DENING and thank you for inviting us into 
your garden and your heart. We will do our 
best to please you; just have a little patience 
at first because we are only babies when you 
receive us. 
