The lovely, lowly violet is now in bloom here in Chicago. I love to see the yards filled with them. They grow in my backyard, too, although they haven’t come up yet there. Their smiling faces make me happy. They symbolize different things, like spirituality, intuition, modesty, love, affection, nobility. Violets, with their heart shaped leaves, were also called heart’s ease and used by herbalists to treat heart ailments. The flowers are edible (although I would only eat them if I knew they were growing in a clean place–probably not around the city). But they can be candied and used for decorations on desserts–yum.
In Victorian flower language, the blue (I assume that’s the ones I call purple) mean devotion, while white means innocence.
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XO
To Wonder at Beauty 
Hello Susan! I like your painting a lot; also, I like violets, too. A friend of mine once made liquor out of violets, I think. Or perhaps she just used violets to flavor a pre-existing liquor. Anyway, she said it was pretty good.
Melanie Atherton Allen
http://www.athertonsmagicvapour.com
Thanks for your kind words. That sounds like a lovely drink.
These small flowers are always a reminder to me of my grandmothers. They both kept pots of violets growing on their kitchen window sills. The vibrant color always brings a smile to my face and lightens my spirit.
http://poetryfromthelanai.blogspot.com
Thanks, Gail. I’m finding that I have a lot of happy memories associated with flowers. Thank you for sharing yours.
Our violets are finally in bloom right outside my kitchen window. Beautiful!