- Infuse oil or make a balm with the leaves.
- Make violet jelly and vinegar.
- Use violet leaf infused oil to make soap.
- Infuse honey.
- Steep the flowers to make a tea.
- Freeze violet flowers in ice cubes.
- Toss them in salads.
What can I do with wild violets?
The leaves can also be used in your salad mix. You can cook them, too, though they’re a bit bland. The leaves are just as full of nutrients as the flowers, so don’t neglect to include them on your list of foods to forage in the spring. Wild violets make a surprisingly healthy food source.
What is a good recipe for violets in the kitchen?
1 2 cups fresh wild violets, stems and leaves removed (add more for stronger flavor and richer color) 2 1 cup water 3 2 cups cane sugar 4 juice 1/2 lemon More ...
Can you put African violets in salad?
African violets make gorgeous houseplants, but definitely should not be on your list of fun things to throw into your salad. They’ll make you very sick. Unlike African violets, wild violets can be on your list of cool things to add to your salad. The flowers add unexpected color and a sweet flavor to your favorite greens and sandwiches.
What are wild violets?
These cute little flowers are known as wild violets. Small as they are, they are delicious to drink in tea and provide several vitamins and nutrients. Foraging for and using wild violets is easy and there are several ways to make them delicious in the kitchen!
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How can you tell if wild violets are edible?
1:403:24Wild Violets: Uses & identification - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe ones that we have have a waxy leaf with slightly serrated edges both the leaves and flowers canMoreThe ones that we have have a waxy leaf with slightly serrated edges both the leaves and flowers can be eaten raw or cooked.
Can you make tea from wild violets?
Wild violet tea To make violet tea simply place a tablespoon or two of fresh,clean violet flowers in your tea cup. Cover with boiling water and allow to steep for about 10 minutes. The flowers give off a lovely blueish color that deepens to purple the more violets you use. Strain out the flowers and drink.
Can you eat wild violets?
Harvesting wild violet Leaves are edible but because the leaves are easily confused with other non-edible plants it is important to stick with the sure bet if you are unfamiliar with violets and their look-alikes. Violet flowers can be used to garnish salads or flavor vinegar and syrup.
What can you use violets for?
Violet is cooling and moistening and is used internally as a blood cleanser, respiratory remedy, and lymphatic stimulant. It is taken as a tea or syrup, and can also be eaten for its medicine. The exact dosage is not especially important since it can safely be consumed in large quantities.
How do I make violet tea?
Steep fresh violets directly to make tea. Add 2-3 teaspoons fresh violet flowers to 1 cup of boiling water. If making a teapot, add as many flowers as cups to be made. Allow to steep for five minutes, strain and serve.
Can you eat violets raw?
Violets leaves can be used raw in salads or cooked like spinach. Their flowers can be eaten raw, or candied, the dried leaves can be used to make tea. Violets can also be added to soups as a thickener.
How do you make wild violet salve?
1:145:56How to Make Wild Violet Salve (Homestead Tessie Mobile Home ...YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo my oil it was part almond oil I'm part olive oil and then of course the dried violet leaves andMoreSo my oil it was part almond oil I'm part olive oil and then of course the dried violet leaves and the flowers. Then I had this in for about 10 hours.
How do you make a violet tincture?
Prepare 100 ml jar and fill it with leaves and flowers. Use 40 % alcohol or 80-proof vodka and cover plants completely with the alcohol to the very top of the jar. Tighten the jar properly to avoid the tincture developing rot. Put on the lid, stir well and set in a cool place with an occasional shake.
How do you harvest wild violets?
0:418:56Backyard foraging can be fun! Harvest wild Violets an amazing Edible PlantYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAge in the 1800s. They made jams and jellies but today i'm going to use this for cleaning propertiesMoreAge in the 1800s. They made jams and jellies but today i'm going to use this for cleaning properties and i'm just going to use this as a cleaning agent so full of antioxidants. And it cleans really
What parts of violets are edible?
So, can you eat violets? Indeed, you can! Violets, both the leaves and flowers, contain high amounts of vitamin C and vitamin A. The edible violet plant can be used to make syrups, brew teas, and in baked desserts.
Are any violets poisonous?
Lesser celandine, right, is toxic raw and at later stages of it's life. The only potentially dangerous look-a-like for wild violets would be lesser celandine, Ficaria verna, (formerly known as Ranuculus ficaria). Lesser celandine is toxic, when eaten raw or after the plant flowers.
Are wild violets good?
Wild violets make great accents around trees, near water sources, and beds. They also make excellent choices for instant ground cover in a woodland garden. They can even be grown in containers. Both the leaves and flowers (which bloom in late winter and early spring) are also edible and rich in vitamins.
Identifying Wild Violets
Wild violets typically have purple flowers and heart-shaped leaves. However, they may appear in various shades of purple as well as white. They grow in clumps, only getting about 4 to 6 inches high, though sometimes they get a bit taller.
The Edible Wild Violet
Unlike African violets, wild violets can be on your list of cool things to add to your salad. The flowers add unexpected color and a sweet flavor to your favorite greens and sandwiches. And they add a creative flair to dessert decorations.
The Medicinal Wild Violet
It’s fun to find wild foods to add to the menu, especially if you have kids to help harvest them. It’s even better, though, when those foods have health benefits. Wild violets offer several notable advantages that make them worth collecting.
Are Wild Violets Edible?
Yes, indeed, you can eat wild violets! And not just the violet flowers are edible, the leaves are as well. We use violets’ pretty heart-shaped leaves in salads and herbal teas all season, long after the lovely purple flowers are gone.
Edible Wild Violets in the Garden
Violets make fantastic groundcovers, perfect if you’re trying to eradicate or limit your lawn. They will spread themselves all over and require little more from you than some water during long dry spells. Unlike grass, they do well in shade.
Foraging Edible Wild Violets
Nearly all violets are edible (see exceptions below). European sweet violets have more scent and flavor than the common North American varieties, often known as wood violets or common blue violets.
Edible Wild Violets in the Kitchen
You can eat both the leaves of wild violets and their gorgeous flowers. Both are rich in vitamins A & C, and the leaves are a good source of fiber and all those amazing phytochemicals that help prevent inflammation and keep our bodily systems humming. See ideas for using them below.
How to Prepare Wild Violets
Enjoy them fresh or cooked. The flowers are made into a strong herbal infusion (tea) for lemonade or a violet simple syrup. Create elegant ice cubes by adding 1-2 flowers in your ice cube mold before filling with water and freezing, as well as using the flowers to garnish salads, drinks, or meals.
When Do You Forage for Wild Violets?
Violets are found in early spring. Their leaves appear in early spring and the flowers appear shortly after. They send up several flower stalks before dying back during the hot months of summer. They reappear again in later summer and early fall when you can harvest the leaves a second time.
Where Can You Find Wild Violets?
Violets thrive in partial shade to full sun in rich soil. You can find them on the edge of woodlands or in partial shade to full sun in untreated lawns.
Using Wild Violets- Violet Lemonade Recipe
We are blessed to have a large patch of violets growing in the lawn that circles our house. My kids love picking and eating the violets on the spot and gathering them to make lemonade.
Violet Lemonade Recipe
My kids love foraging for violets and really enjoy making violet lemonade with the charming purple flowers! The acid from the lemon juice will magically turn the violet tea from a dark blue color to a beautiful pink!
Is It Safe To Eat Wild Violets?
Make sure you know what wild violets look like and don’t confuse them with African violets, the ones that are safe to eat have heart-shaped jagged leaves and purple flowers although they can come in many shades and even white. They grow in zones 3-9 in shady places.
What Is Wild Violet Syrup Used For?
Wild violet syrup can be used for all kinds of things! You can take a spoonful to soothe a sore throat, dry cough, or lymphatic stagnation. You can also add some to sparkling water or lemonade. You can even put some in desserts like cakes and frosting.
What Can You Make With Wild Violets?
Wild violets can be made into jelly, syrup, tea, violet vinegar, candied flowers, baked into bread and cakes, and you can even freeze them in ice cubes to jazz up your drink.
These delicate blooming plants can be a challenge to banish from your yard. Here's how to rid your lawn of this pretty yet pesky perennial
There are many types of wild violet species, some native and others European and Asian invaders, but all grow primarily in the northern regions of the U.S. You can recognize these flowering perennials by their early spring blossoms and heart-shaped, waxy leaves.
What Are Wild Violets?
Wild violets are a close relative to annual violas and pansies, Shipman says. They are a persistent, low-growing, broadleaf perennial that thrives in shady spots with moist soil, and they flower prolifically in the early spring. The plants grow between four and six inches tall, forming thick clumps with flowers that attract many pollinators.
Are Wild Violets Weeds?
If you define a weed as any plant growing where you don’t want it, you can definitely consider wild violets in your lawn to be weeds.
Are Wild Violets Safe?
Yes. The flowers and leaves of these wild plants are edible and even have medical qualities for humans.
How To Prevent Wild Violets From Coming Back
Many homeowners let a limited number of wild violets coexist with their turfgrass because the flowers are an important source of nectar when little else is in bloom. But once you’ve stopped a full-blown invasion, here’s how you can keep these plants in check.
Wild Violet Flowers
Wild violets ( Viola odorata) have heart-shaped leaves with purple-blue flowers. Some varieties also have white or yellow blooms. Although in some areas they are considered annuals or biennials, wild violets often self-seed, coming back each year in unexpected locations.
Growing Wild Violet Plants in the Garden
Growing violets is easy and with care they have many uses in the garden. Wild violets make great accents around trees, near water sources, and beds. They also make excellent choices for instant ground cover in a woodland garden. They can even be grown in containers.
Wild Violets Care
When growing violets, other than watering following planting and occasional watering throughout the growing season, wild violet flowers require very little care. These resilient little plants tend to take care of themselves.
Identifying Wild Violets
Wild violets are easily recognized by their low growth habit; waxy, heart-shaped leaves; and small lavender, white, or yellow flowers. The plants are commonly around 4 to 6 inches high, though they can grow taller in the right conditions.
When to Get Rid of Wild Violets
Using herbicide to eradicate wild violets is best undertaken in the fall. At this time, the herbicide will be transported down to the taproot as the plant stores nutrients for winter. Thus, you have a good chance of the herbicide killing the plant down to ground level with a fall application.
How to Remove Wild Violets by Hand
Young wild violets are fairly easy to pull by hand. For larger plants, enlist the help of a garden fork. 2
How to Kill Wild Violets With Herbicide
The best approach to killing wild violets with herbicide is to spot treat individual weeds rather than spray weed killer over the entire area. This will minimize the chemicals being introduced into the environment. 3 A garden sprayer with a wand nozzle will let you target the leaves of individual weeds with almost no drift of chemical mist.
The Case for Tolerating Wild Violets
Because wild violets have pretty flowers that bloom early and often, not everyone regards this plant as a weed. Many homeowners choose to let these wildflowers grow in their lawns and elsewhere.
Appearance
Environment
- They are found in zones 3 through 9 and grow in areas of partial shade. If you see a nice clump, you can transplant them into your garden if you like, be aware that they will spread.
Quotes
- If you have ever tried to control violets, you know they pretty much do whatever they want. That doesnt have to be a bad thing, though, if you know how to use them.
Uses
- Violet flowers can be used to make violet vinegar, violet jelly, violet tea, violet syrup and even candied violets (because you know the kids will love that!). Try freezing a few into ice cubes for a festive touch to drinks during a party. Your guests will be impressed for sure.
Advantages
- Its fun to find wild foods to add to the menu, especially if you have kids who can help harvest them, but its even better when those foods have health benefits. Wild violets have several notable advantages that make them worth collecting.
Benefits
- Spring is often thought of as a time to purify the body after a long winter and gain renewed energy for spring. Violets are perfect for this because they help your body to eliminate waste by stimulating the lymphatic glands to get rid of toxins in the body. Violets are also known to strengthen the immune system and reduce inflammation. Spring is a typical time for sore throat…
Other
- A poultice from violets has also been used to treat headaches by Native Americans. This may be due to the salicylic acid contained in the flower, which is also found in aspirin.
Preparation
- Two teaspoons of dried leaves and one teaspoon of dried flowers can be steeped in a cup of boiling water for about five minutes to make a restorative tea. Or, you can use two or three teaspoons of fresh flowers. This will give you a milder tasting tea. Be sure to strain out the flowers and leaves before drinking. For added health benefits, add a bit of honey if desired.