A Violet Cocktail, For the Modern Victorian

Violet Fizz (The Bubbly Bar)


4 oz Prosecco 
1/2 oz Homemade Violet Syrup (see April post for recipe)
1 oz Delicate Gin
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
1/2 oz Pasteurized Egg White
* optional garnish, 2 Pieces of Candied Violet


Pour the prosecco into a cocktail glass
Combine other ingredients in a shaker
Shake with ice until well chilled
Strain into cocktail glass
* garnish with candied violet


Perfect for an old-skool ladies luncheon, a bridal tea party, or any breezy afternoon suited for no more than bloomers outdoors.  It sounds afternoon daydreamy, sweetly ladylike and completely unnecessary, which is enough to appeal to me.

Photo courtesy of Old Prints

Viola Hearththrob

I'm often keeping my eyes peeled on Terra Nova Nursery's new plant introductions.  They paint with a bold palette, bringing eye-candy goodness to life, animating lovely and envious new things.

Now, my feet are firmly rooted on our soggy terra firma, but my head is sometimes off in the clouds.  It's not always the "novelty" plant, the hoop-jumping lion of the green world, that will seduce and literally bust my pocketbook (the zipper of which has long since been looted by trespass), but it's often a good old-fashioned charmer, an ornamental staple that I end up gently hauling home, for I have a rational side as well.

I have kept a nursery tag for 1 of every plant species I own or once owned that was more of a novelty for me, if only when I bought it.  Every gardener starts at the beginning, right?  I look through the stack each new year, and honestly remember many lost plants - some went back to the earth by way of the compost bin, some went home with friends, some are still thriving at a previous address or two.  And by this process, I'm able to better resist the newbies of each successive year.

Well, last fall after a brief introduction, I brought home another circus lion, a younger version of an old favorite, a variegated Viola called "Heartthrob".  It's just waking up from winter, and we're fighting the slugs together.  So I have yet to see how it will perform in our little space, but it's already showing signs of longevity, having survived two transplants, our cold winter, and a spring onslaught of slug armies.

This is what it looked like when I brought it home!

Photo courtesy of Terra Nova Nursery

First Day Barefoot!

I believe there is no such thing as a shrinking violet, that there is only the shy or cautious viewer.  Violets embody the qualities of divine power (blue) and of divine love (pink) which, when merged, create a pulsating energy that consumes on contact the darkness within all that it touches.  


"The violets are children with bare feet"


Translation by Allen Prowle
Original poem by Rocco Scotellaro

The leaves are fresh on the almond trees,
spring water rains from stone walls;
trotting lightly, the donkeys choose
the friendlier of the river’s banks;
the girls with the darkest eyes
clamber on the squeaking cart, aloof.
March is a baby, laughing already, in its swaddling clothes.


And you can forget the winter,
who, bent by bundles of wood,
have told your beads,
mile after freezing mile,
to roast your face by the fire.


Now ticks come back to the horses,
in the stables flies stir the air,
and children with bare feet
charge upon clumps of violet.

If you have a mind to grow these, try planting them in a portion of your lawn that's shaded from hot afternoon sun.  They tend to take over, albeit slowly.  Harvest the flowers in spring (March - June) for homemade Violet Syrup, to toss into fresh salads, or to candy for an old-fashioned treat.

To make Violet Syrup, pour 1/2 C. boiling water over 3 cups of flowers (no stems) and cover.  Let cool and steep together for 24 hours.  On the second day, add 2 - 3 C. sugar (to taste) to the violet water and bring to a gentle boil, stirring 'til the sugar is dissolved.  Strain the flowers.  Your Violet Syrup is ready for use!  Store in a cool, dark area or in the fridge for up to 6 months.  Little re-corking bottles make sweet gifts.   

Photo by French Tart