Flower of the Month: February: Violets

I’m pretty sure we all know that old rhyme: Roses are Red, Violets are Blue…Well, they got it kind of right. While this month’s flower of the month can be blue, it can also have purple, white or yellow blooms. Violets are beautiful, fragile flowers that are actually best NOT used as a cut flower in arrangements. They have an extremely short shelf life when separated from the host plant (2-3 days), which makes them essentially unviable as a commercial product. They are also incredibly fragile flowers. Their stems are exceptionally thin and the blossoms themselves need to be handled with care.

While I wouldn't recommend using violets in mass quantities in a cut flower arrangement (hydrangeas are far better suited for that), I do think they can be used in event floral arranging in order to create moments. One suggestion would be to use clusters of violets in non-transparent bud vases. It is a truly delicate looking blossom that looks quite lovely when used in the simplest manner. Another option, is to use a violet almost as a succulent – roots and all. For a rustic event, small potted violet plants can be inserted into a larger rectangular wooden vessel to create a centerpiece. To hide the mechanics, the pots can be covered with other organic materials, such as moss if you would like to keep the violets as the primary focus, or with groupings of other cut flowers like hydrangeas, roses and lisianthus, if you wish to create a more integrated centerpiece.

Violets also make excellent detail flowers. Imagine attending a baby shower with violets planted in crisp, modern white ceramic vessels atop the tables while the blossoms themselves adorn the offered desserts and are gently inserted in the folded napkins at each place setting. Violets look beautiful as they add a pop of color and texture to cakes, place settings or even strewn across a card table.

As you may have noticed in all of these Flower of the Month articles, all flowers have a greater meaning. Back in the Victorian age, a gift of violets was considered a declaration of faithfulness. Today, it still holds that meaning, as well as that of modesty and virtue.