Roses are Red, Violets are Blue

   "And Spring arose on the garden fair,
             Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
     And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast,
             Rose from the dreams of its wintry rest."

                                    -Percy Bysshe Shelly

Violets at the base of my Clematis

    Even though spring seemed to take forever to show itself when it finally did I was happy to see that most of my flowers survived the long hard winter.

    Among those flowers I count the lovely Violets that grow wild in many gardens. I know most people consider them weeds, they seem to pop up everywhere in places we don't want them and weave themselves through our lawns. They also seem to multiple at great speeds and are difficult to control and even more difficult to get rid of.

  So, my solution is to embrace them. They are after all a really pretty flower and its bright violet color pops against it's green foliage. They are perfect as ground covers and for plants like the Clematis with its delicate roots, they provide shade and keep things cool when planted at their base. And they are one of the first flowers to greet us in the spring, brightening our day.

Violets

   The flowers are edible. They can be sugared and look beautiful crowned on top of cakes and pastries. You can toss them in salads or scatter them on top of fruit or ice cream. And... you can also make Violet Jelly. If you have children this is a fun thing to do with them, just make sure that the flowers you choose have not been sprayed and give them a gentle wash before using.

    Pick about two to three cups of flowers, no stems.  After washing them place them in a large mason jar and cover with 2 1/2 cups of boiling water. Now this is where the fun starts, almost immediately after you pour the water over the flowers their color starts to drain, producing a deep dark purple/blue. I was amazed at how quickly this happens and the intensity of the color.

Violets in hot water

Violet water

  


 Put the lid on your jar and leave it for 24 hours. Then drain the liquid into another clear jar. You can drain it into a pot, ready for cooking but using a jar you get to see it once again change color. Squeeze the juice of one large lemon and add it to the violet water. This color change happens in seconds so if you are doing this with children make sure they are watching. And there you have it, pink water.

After adding the lemon juice

  Pour your liquid into a pot and add your pectin (one pouch) boil for 1 minute and then add 3 1/2 cups of sugar. I used a little less so it just depends on how sweet you want it. Then boil for 1 more minute and ladle into your sterilized jars. Process and there you have it, Violet Jelly. 

  I love how pretty this jelly is. It is great on bagels, toast, crumpets etc. You could use it in between chocolate cake layers and top the cake with violets as decoration. It would also be nice with cream cheese or with very old white cheddar.

  I used the recipe from http://thenerdyfarmwife.com and I also have a great book 'Cooking with Flowers' by Miche Bacher, that has a good jelly recipe. If you are interested in learning more about edible flowers and having fun in the kitchen check this book out. It is visually beautiful and has great recipes.

The 'Oh so pretty' Violet Jelly

Jelly and English muffin. Yum!!

  So the next time you come across violets instead of thinking 'weed' think of all the possibilities for your next culinary experiments. And don't forget the beauty they are adding to your spring garden.

  Have fun and Happy Gardening!!