Just when I thought it was
going to be bleak, cold and miserable for the remainder of my lifetime, I spied
some tiny blooms near the path to the waterfall.
The first one is a pretty
little yellow flower with brown veins on its lower petals. I don’t recall
seeing this Lilliputian lovely last year, and it may be because the Roundleaf Yellow Violet
(also known as the Early Yellow Violet or Viola
rotundifolia) often has come and gone before other varieties even appear.
Early Yellow Violet |
Once the early spring flowers
have faded, the attractive heart-shaped leaves keep growing and can measure up
to 5” across by the end of summer.
It is the only yellow violet in eastern
North America with leaves and flowers on separate stalks.
My next discovery was growing
right by the stream and turned out to be the Sweet White Violet (V. blanda). The Cherokees used this this
plant as a vegetable, mixing the leaves and stems with other greens, sprinkling
them with salt and frying them up in fat.
The Sweet Violet is very
similar to the Northern White Violet but the sweet variety has two upper petals
that are twisted backwards.
I must point out here that these flowers are all of
¼ inch in diameter so your humble scribe should get some extra brownie points (or
a bonus glass of red wine) for figuring out the difference.
I’ve read the name came about because the arrowhead
leaves are reminiscent of a battle-ax type weapon used in the 15th and 16th centuries.
I’ll
have to take the historians at their word.
Confederate Violet |
In addition to these early bloomers, we will soon see other varieties
including the Confederate, Beaked and common blue violets.
Because of the diminitive size they can be easily overlooked, even though the humble violet has been
celebrated in myths and literature from ancient times.
In addition to the violets, the Bluets are back. When I first noticed them
in spring of 2012, I thought they were Forget-me-nots.
Upon further review, the jaunty blue flowers weren’t forget-me-nots at all,
but Mountain or Thymeleaf Bluets, a member of the Madder family. They are
sometimes called “Innocence” or “Quaker ladies” because the flower shape
resembles a Quaker lady’s hat. They can grow in open grassy areas, woodlands
and along streams.
No matter what you call them, these delicate blooms are a welcome addition
to my garden.