Sweet Violet (Viola odorata)
Flowers: Late March to April. Height: 15cm (6in)
The Romans used to make Violet wine, and strewed the sweet scented flowers on floors. During the Middle Ages, monks called the Violet ‘an Herb of the Trinity’ because they were found in three primary colours of white, yellow and mauve/blue. Our ancestors believed these plants to be flowers of change, transition, and a symbol of the cycle of death and rebirth.
Medicinal: The leaves and flowers were made into a medicine and used as a poultice to cool any heat or hot swellings in the body and known to soothe eye inflammations. Hildegard de Bingen’s ‘Causes and cures’ (c.1151) provided a recipe for oil of violets as a cure for blurred vision. A syrup of violet flowers with honey was an effective cough remedy, used for diseases of the lungs as well as for back pain and cystitus. Powdered flowers taken in water relieved the falling-sickness (epilepsy) in children.
Culinary: Violets were commonly grown in medieval kitchen gardens and its young leaves and flowers were eaten in salads. There is a 15th century recipe for ‘Vyolette’, a pudding made from violet petals, almond milk, and rice flour.
