Happy Full Moon – May 5, 2023
Delicate Tiny Beauty
It is finally spring in Denver and my violets are in bloom. Violet plants flower early in the spring along with tulips and daffodils. But unlike their very showy neighbors, violets have a quieter energy and can be almost invisible.
Violets grow naturally in shady areas. My earliest memory of violets is finding them wild in the wooded area behind my childhood home. And like many wildflowers they are tiny and yet very beautiful. You have to be attentive, or you’ll miss them, as they are mixed in with all the undergrowth.
You can easily invite them into a shady area in your yard. Mine happily share a bed with raspberries which provide shade in Denver’s hot summers. Violets propagate by sending out runners to form new plants (like strawberries). You may have a friend with violet “babies” to give away, but you can also buy plants from a nursery.
Violet Attributes – Food, Healing, & Beauty
Violets (Viola odorata) have been used for food and medicine for hundreds of years. Flowers and leaves are edible and high in vitamins A and C. Toss them into salads to add beauty and flavor. Herbalists have recognized the soothing benefits of violet tea for coughs and other bronchial complaints.
Additionally, the flowers can be used to create syrup, wine, and vinegar. You can freeze the flowers in ice cubes to add to summer drinks or candy them to decorate cakes. (Please note: African violets – Streptocarpus ssp. –are a completely different species and are not edible.)
Maude Grieve, in her 1930s book A Modern Herbal, notes that early herbalists recommended violets as a sleep aid and to keep away wicked spirits. The heart shaped leaves have a resonance with love and the plant has been recommended to mend a broken heart. One of its many energetic qualities is the ability to dispel evil with love.
Violets as Mindfulness Reminder
Violets have many energetic properties – beauty, healing, and love are just a few. But I’ve always found one of its strongest properties to be the reminder to tune into the small wonders all around us. They are so easy to miss and yet when we take the time to look, we find them in all their delicate beauty.
Violets ask us to take a moment to discover what is below our feet and just outside of our awareness. You might make a special trip to a wooded area to seek out spring violets and other wonders of nature. Make a commitment to walk with the intention of noticing the tiny flowering plants.
Violets can also inspire you to cast a wider net with your attention – beyond gardens or outdoors. Begin to focus on the things you take for granted or often fail to notice. Tune into the relationships, beauty, and gifts that provide support each day. And you can also shine the light of awareness on yourself to acknowledge the things you often ignore. Notice your strengths in getting through a difficult meeting or discussion. Pay attention to accomplishments during the day instead of the things still undone. And if what you accomplished was simply getting up and facing the world that can be enough.
Play a game with yourself this week to notice and celebrate the violets and tiny wonders in and around your life.
Lunar Blog Post Series
This post is part of my lunar blog series. Each full moon I write about one plant, many of them are plants featured in my book, Growing Mindful. Each new moon I write about a topic related to gardens, mindfulness, and spirituality. For more details and a list of past lunar blog posts, click here.
