Viola odorata 'Lydia Groves'

Viola odorata 'Lydia Groves'

Viola odorata 'Lydia Groves'

The Sweet Violets are wonderful garden plants, and they persist astonishingly for decades where they are suited and undisturbed. In pots, they are vigorous and rapidly outgrow the space available, and then languish and die.

This probably accounts for the general unpopularity of Viola odorata in cultivation currently. They are unsuitable for pots, and collections grown under trees, for example, will spread over large areas, get mixed together, and confused with their own self sown seedlings.

I grow a few, but only by digging them up regularly and reducing the size of the clumps before I lose track of their identities.

'Lydia Groves' is a recent cultivar, raised by C.W.Groves in Bridport. The large rich pink flowers are strongly scented.

Viola odorata 'Lydia Groves'

Viola odorata 'Lydia Groves'

3rd April 2006

6th February 2009