Every spring brings the same quiet but important question: what kind of violets should I choose this year? Violets are often the very first flowers that mark the beginning of the season, and somehow the choice always feels bigger than it should. Small flowers, perhaps, but they carry the whole promise of spring with them.
This year, there were so many beautiful options available. The tables were full of familiar faces – deep purples, soft yellows, delicate pastels – but for reasons I can’t fully explain, it was the bluish tones that drew me in. Cool, calm, and slightly muted, they felt right for this spring. I didn’t notice any truly new colors this time, but that wasn’t disappointing. Sometimes it’s comforting to return to shades you already know and trust.
Violets (viola) are not demanding plants. They settle in easily, tolerate cool days, and just keep flowering. Once planted, they seem content to do their own thing, quietly blooming day after day without asking much in return. That reliability makes them ideal spring flowers, especially after a long winter.
Now they are in place at the summer cottage, brightening up the early season when little else is in bloom. It didn’t take long before they were noticed. Bumblebees were the first visitors, heavy and focused, followed soon by butterflies drifting lightly from flower to flower. Seeing life return so naturally always feels reassuring.
Violets may not shout for attention, but they are always present, always working, always blooming. And once again, they have taken their rightful place as the starting point of spring.
Gardening in the North 