A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 Tiny flowers in my grass..

Ok, these are cute, but I have NO idea what they are, or where they came from. Also, mine are white, with a purple center, but I've seen them elsewhere, and they were exactly the same, but purple, with a white center!

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Meg

It's some type of native violet. To me, it looks like Viola renifolia or Kidney-leaved violet although they are said to grow only as far south as Pennsylvania.

Thank you obywan. I did see some of the purple variety at my inlaws in PA this weekend. I have only seen these white ones in my yard, here in WV, but other yards around here, I've seen the purple ones. Strange?

Meg

Check also White VIOLA canadensis.

viola blanda 'sweet white violet'

sweet white violet

is it a confederate violet?

I am 100% sure that it is viola blanda as I posted earlier. Plate # 65, National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, has the exact same plant as posted by Meg.

"a fragrant, white violet with leaves and flowers on separate, reddish stalks rising from underground stem. runners present.

flowers: 1/2" wide, 5 petals the upper ones bent backward and twisted; lower petal purple-veined

leaves: up to 2 1/2" wide; ovate with heart-shaped bases, dark green, shiny, sharp pointed

range: Quebec south through New England to Maryland and upland to Georgia; west to Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota."

Rugby.. I think you got it right on the money. I looked up some of the photos (google is great!) of that particular viola, and it looks very very similar.. but also does the one that papito of the white canada violet . The only thing is that as far as I can tell, the one papito listed shouldn't be living this far south.

Ok, so I found the american violet society's website, and they have an interactive click thru to help id different violets.. and tho I may be wrong in some of the descriptiveness.. it produced an answer of ....

SWEET WHITE VIOLET.

Thanks again!

(And how the frilly heck did I get these in my yard!?)

Meg

such is the magical beauty of nature.

Meg - I love it! We have the purple variety here - I find them so cheerful, first thing in spring. Haven't seen the white variety, though I wouldn't mind having a little of them too. They do tend to get invasive though... I didn't know they smell sweet - will have to see about the purple ones now.

I have the wild purple ones that fill my yard
too.. my husband gets after me cause I like to wait to mow until they're done blooming.......

Someday when I have my webshots up I'll post the
pictures I take, I have one where there is just a sea of purple...

See why the hubby gets mad about the mowing part, and I won't let him mow until they're done blooming is....... cause just as soon as those are about done, the wild veronica's, forget~me~nots', etc....are all blooming and I don't him to mow those either... <img border="0" alt="[perplexed]" title="" src="graemlins/confused.gif" />

Weezie

*psssssst* Weezie.. what's worse, not mowing, or mowing *around* the weeds? Hubby was pretty upset over that one last year.. I left some chicory & queen anne's lace around the yard last year..lol. I was rebelling, because the town sent in mowers to cut the ditch that I'd left grow full of chicory. :p

Hmm.. speaking of mowing.. must do that today, before the rain comes tonight. It's getting jungle like since it didn't get done this weekend.

Meg

Gee, Meg, you must live in a strict town. I never heard of the city "bullying" folks like that until I moved to California. I lived the past 10 years in Morgantown, WV, and saw chicory & lace everywhere undisturbed. They do make such nice companions. So refreshing after a winter of our ditches filled with black sludge from cinders & ice.

I had a big chunk of chicory in the front
yard too, I kept it in a nice circle,
and it was pretty tall....but hubby got
on the riding lawn mower and made mince meat outta it... :p
I haven't been able to "see" the seeds on
that plant yet..

But it's such a pretty blue color...

And I like to use the QAL when I pick bouquets..
They're a nice filler and are very delicate
and victorian like to me...

Weezie

Rugby.. you wouldn't think it'd be "strict" here.. we're not far from farm country. Heck, a 5 minute ride, and we're at a dairy farm!! But, I'm in a fairly newly developed circle, and they want it to "look nice". And if you don't mow your ditches down to look fairly clean cut, after awhile, the city comes along with thier big mowers & do it for you, whether you ask them to or not. *sigh* I wish they woulda cut my yard then too.. because by the end of summer, my mower had died, again. :rolleyes: I loved how the ditch was finally filling in with all the pretty blue, white, & yellow flowers.. it is so unsightly a ditch as it is. I get a river thru it when it rains. The ditch around my property, is one of the deepest in our circle. It's way too deep for my liking. I ran my van into it one day, and it took about 5 grown adults in the back to lower it enough to hit the ground behind us so it could be backed outta the ditch.

So, since they like to mow the ditch down, just on the other side of the sidewalk, in front of my ugly chain link fence, I just used up 1/2 a can of wildflower seeds. So there!

Meg

Meg, I'm rootin' for your wildflowers. If you need more seeds to add to that can, let me know Jane

Sure thing Jane.. Right now, it's lookin' good. I have lots of little green sprouts goin right now!

Meg