Peace In Our Gardens

Out among the viola tubs today there was perfect peace.  A myriad hoverflies and two or three honey bees were visiting the flowers; from the next door gardens came the joyful shouts of children; as I deadheaded and took in the scent which literally hung in the air, a plane sounded overhead, and suddenly I was thinking of the radio news earlier about Syria.  How privileged I am, to be pottering around here, while all over the world are people who never know this peace.  How different from ours are the lives of children, who hear the roar of planes and bombs and face the threat of death from the skies - all because of the fights of their elders, who should be their guardians instead of being the means of tormenting and shortening their precious early years! Whatever way you look at it, whatever side you are on, where is the good if your struggles for power sacrifice your children?  How could any war be worth the loss of your own offspring!  Surely these wars are the worst kind of child abuse!

Viola 'Etain'

When I sit in the kitchen, I can see through the open door a brown window box overflowing with viola 'Etain'.  This is a lovely yellow viola, with a purple border all round the flower.  It has been flowering since April and shows no sign of stopping yet.  I would take cuttings but I hesitate to disturb it.

Viola 'Aspasia'

'Aspasia'  is a bubbly little viola; its flowers are much smaller than those of V. 'Etain', but the plant is every bit as upright and floriferous, and has an altogether happy appearance.  I have been deadheading all my violas every day if at all possible, and  'Aspasia' is one plant which really rewards this care, although all violas are the better for it.

Viola 'Irish Molly'

I had read about viola 'Irish Molly' before I ever saw her, and when I first spotted her in a nursery it was instant recognition.  No photo can really do this viola justice.  It has a tufted habit foliage-wise, with the flowers held well above the leaves.  But it is the flowers which are unforgettable - in colour they are a mix of brown and greeny yellow, and seem to be regarding one solemnly.  I had this plant for some years and lost it, and now have it again.  According to one catalogue it is considered quite difficult to grow, but I think I lost mine through carelessness, and I shall take care not to do so again.  I remember when I first laid eyes on the low-lying rocks of Connemara, supine at the edge of the green Atlantic, and the time I stood at the Rock of Cashel and saw all Tipperary and beyond spread at my feet and glowing in the sun; that is how it is to look at Viola 'Irish Molly' for the first time - a jewel of a plant which glows at you and dwells in serenity.  But you need to see it in real life, photos just do not do it justice.