Violet

The first of the year! I think think this may be a Sweet Violet which is usually purple and appears at the end of February (viola odorata) although I have never noticed its perfume. The flowers are full of goodness for bees but tend to bloom before the bees appear so hardly any seeds are set! It propagates by sending out runners.

The name Viola is the Latin name for the Greek god Ione. "Io" was changed into a white heifer by Jupiter because of Juno's jealousy and at the same time he created these flowers for her to graze and named them after her.

In days gone by violets were strewn over the floors of houses and churches to sweeten the air even though the scent fades quickly. They have also been long associated with death. Even Shakespeare mentions this in Hamlet.

A rainy day and the sun appears just as I am writing this blip!