Friday, June 1, 2012

Grammie's Violets



Ok...so I waited too long to get a photo of this.  I have two varieties that Grammie had growing in Medford and Northern Maine.  One is a purple seen here in all of it's out of focus splendor, and a white one with little stripes of purple on the throat.  Violets in general have some medicinal properties.  Violet oils and teas are supposed to help with hangovers, and used as gargles can help fight infection.  Also there is speculation that it may have some effect on tumors...there is always some speculation on hebal uses of plants, but it is often best to leave it at speculation.  Made into a salve, the leaves and flowers may help with minor skin eruptions etc.  Perhaps we can get a better picture of these next year.  Grammie used to call these French Violets...little fragrance, and most of the literature on the medicinal qualities actually refer to the wild, sweet violet.  Stay away from the seeds, they won't kill you, but they may make you regret eating them.  These spread like crazy, which I love, but they can get a little out of hand if you are not careful.  The bunnies love the leaves and many of my plants do not have tops on them for long, but then the Scarlet Trumpet Vine is the same way.

No comments:

Post a Comment