Sweet Violet

And just to say that spring was come,
The violet left its woodland home,
And, hermit-like, from storms and wind
Sought the best shelter it could find,
‘Neath long grass banks, with feeble flowers
Peeping faintly purple flowers.
John Clare

Unlike the violets that are found locally and have no perfume these sweet violets (viola odorata) have a sweet smell. I think they are fairly common in England but rarely found growing wild in Scotland. When we moved from the south I transplanted these which had been growing wild in our garden hedge.

Throughout history they have been linked with love and the Greek goddess Aphrodite and Roman goddess Venus and also Valentine. Napoleon died wearing a locket of sweet violets from Josephine’s grave and the Victorians loved them for their perfume and as posies.
The Roman poet, Horace, complained that the farmers seemed to care more about growing violets than the olives. They enjoyed sweet violet wine and sometimes the Romans wore a wreath made of violets when drinking wine as it would supposedly help with a hangover.
In medieval times they were scattered on the floor to sweeten the air and it was written that good cure for a grouchy husband is to serve him violet pudding.