Violets

Sprinkles of blue in my Nan's garden

Hello Sentimental friends!

A theme runs through all my yet-to-be-written blogs: the passing of people and the passing of time. 

Yeah …  that’s not the most inspiring opening paragraph, but I wanted to be upfront and open with you before I launch into my stories.

Why so morbid, Cass? Isn’t this all about gardening?

Well, yes … and no. 

This Substack is a journal of my experiences, not a how-to-do gardening blog. 

[Side note: does anyone else find those food blogs frustrating where they write about their family's relationship to one bolognese recipe passed down from generation to generation? All you want to do is get to the recipe, but the writer makes you scroll for kilometres only to find it at the bottom of the page!]

Now I think of it - this blog is sounding more and more like the food bloggers' version for gardeners!

I can’t help but reflect on gardening, how it reveals the truth about life, and how everything is connected. Sprinkle in some practical gardening advice I’ve learned along the way, and you’ve got The Sentimental Gardener. 

One of *the* most therapeutic aspects of gardening [for me] is keeping the connection and memory alive of loved ones who are no longer here. I could use photos. Photos are a brilliant tool for reminding you of your loved one.

But my brain doesn’t pay attention to photos that sit in the same spot on the shelf unless I need to dust around them, which *ahem* doesn't happen that regularly in my house! 

Plants, on the other hand, need regular attention. That is if you want to keep them alive. 

There’s something grounding and centering with plants that only appear in certain seasons. [Plant nerd alert: they’re called perennials, biennials and annuals.]

If you pay attention and notice the changes in your garden each season, newly awakened plants that connect to memories of a place and time help you remember those memories. Or when these plants pop up, you remember your loved ones by connecting to that plant.

I’ve noticed that being tuned into these connections motivates me to go outside and garden because I want to keep those memories alive. 

Whatever the relationship, plants, people and memories are all connected for me. 

Remember when you were a kid? The world appeared bigger; houses felt enormous, and gardens were like parks.

I loved being outside and in the garden when I was a kid. I was born in the 1980s and grew up in the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. My house had a front and back garden, and I can still remember the different plants in each area when I reflect on them.

My parents would spend their weekends outside in the garden, mowing the lawn, pulling weeds or planting new plants. 

My grandparents, who we called Nan and Pop, lived five minutes away, so I often saw them. They had a more extensive garden than us, and I loved to explore all the different levels. I say levels, as it was a sloping block of land, and three banks separated the backyard.

It was *the best* place to play hide-and-seek. 

One of my earliest memories of getting my hands in the dirt and doing “gardening jobs” was at my Nan and Pop’s place. They taught me how to work out what plants were weeds and what needed to stay in the ground. 

I have strong memories of violets growing right next to the steps leading up to Nan’s front door. 

Photo by Damien TUPINIER on Unsplash

Nan often had posies of violets in tiny vases sitting on her kitchen bench. I can still remember the sweet perfume and loved collecting my own small bunches to take home to place on my desk. 

Did you know that violet flowers are edible?

I remember how surprised I was one day when I opened my Nan’s freezer and saw a tray full of violets in the freezer! Nan had coated them with sugar and was experimenting with using them as cake decorations. Now, if you knew Nan, she loved to bake cakes! And not just any plain cake. The more decorations, the better! She would cover them in homemade peanut brittle, candied fruit, flowers and layers of icing.

I’ll fast-forward to Nan and Pop's last house they lived in. At that house, they also had violets growing in their garden. However, when I would walk around the garden with my Pop, he would complain that “once you plant them in your garden, you can never get rid of them.”

This was right when I discovered the magic of gardening, and I love a freebie, so I pulled some of those violets out of their garden and planted them in mine. 

Unfortunately [or maybe fortunately], Pop was right - they spread through the garden like crazy. 

Violets smell like burnt sugar cubes that have been dipped in lemon and velvet.

— Diane Ackerman, American poet

Violets love being planted in moist, rich, silty loam soil. Many gardeners consider violets a lawn weed because they spread so easily. You can always use this to your advantage and plant violets as a ground cover in your shade garden or rock garden.

They do well in containers, too. I’ve planted mine in a shady spot that was bare and pretty boring. This makes the spot greener but also keeps out [other] weeds. I’ve read that they can tolerate full sun if the ground stays moist. Ideally - plant them in partial sun or light shade. 

Like irises and canna lilies, the common blue violets grow on rhizomes, fleshy horizontal roots that spread laterally just beneath the soil's surface to produce clones. One way to propagate them is to divide them and transplant the clumps.

Looking closely at the violet, you’ll see teeny, tiny hairs. These keep the rain from diluting the nectar and give insects something to hold onto, making pollination easier. I love that!

It’s springtime in Australia today, and my little violets from Nan and Pop’s garden are blooming. I just popped outside for a quick look, but there’s only one flower out now.

If you have violets in your garden and are looking for ways to use the flowers, check out these ideas:

1. Sugared violets [like my Nan used to make]

2. Sprinkle some on salads

3. Freeze in ice cubes for a sah-fancy drink spectacular

4. Violet Jelly

5. Pressed violets as a cookie topper

I hope you’ve enjoyed this story, and hopefully, it’s inspired you to look a little deeper into some of the reasons why you enjoy your garden. Thank you for reading, and happy gardening!