The Bee And Me

Viola 'Columbine'

The downpours have finally departed, for the moment at least.  Out in the tubs this afternoon the violas were certainly showing signs of having been well and truly drenched.  At least the gnats are gone for good, the boiled stones having done the trick. 

There are much fewer blooms on the plants now.  Violas 'Maggie Mott', 'Zoe' and 'Rebecca' have ceased blooming altogether, and I don't see any more buds.  'Glenholme', 'Etain', 'Aspasia', 'Irish Molly', 'Columbine' and 'Vita' are still blooming away, but with the exception of 'Etain', the flowers are much less in number than a couple of weeks earlier.

Viola 'Vita' still standing proud

After being cured of its mildew, viola 'Mrs. Lancaster' never bloomed again, for the last two months, in other words, but has spread lushly all over its tub.  'Helen Dillon' is moribund, although I have managed to save a couple of healthy cuttings from it, and no doubt will be able to buy it again in the spring, as it is one of the named violas sold by three local nurseries,  although in two of them it usually bears the name of viola 'Etain'.   I bought the real 'Etain' from Murphy and Wood, a rare plant nursery near Cabinteely in south County Dublin,  and they never make mistakes in their plant names.

I found a mere five seedheads today, on 'Vita', 'Aspasia' and 'Columbine', and brought them inside to mature as I have done with all this summer's seedheads.  I have a nice little container of seeds now;  as I said before, I didn't record the plants they came from, although perhaps in the future I may be more careful.  So if I find a really splendid viola amongst my seedlings next spring, I won't know its ancestry.

The Last Flowers on Viola 'Ivory Queen'

Never mind, such an outcome would be a great thrill anyway.  From what I read in my books, it is not as easy as all that to find a really worthwhile viola seedling which might go into commercial production.  From all my books it is clear that more than a unique colour is necessary; you need those long flower stalks I am always going on about, they need to hold the blooms well clear of the foliage and not let them flop or lie along the plant; flowers should be produced freely, that is, more than just one or two here and there; also importantly, the viola should flower over a long period as all the best named varieties do.

Then there is the worry that a plant which starts off in fine fettle will lose its enthusiasm and start producing much smaller flowers, something I have witnessed myself and have read warnings about.  An added bonus is scent - I confess I much prefer violas with a noticeable perfume.  This is more often than not, I think, a feature of the best violas.  My Viola cornuta minor has a beautifully strong scent, and I am really curious to see if this is true of the new cornutas my gardening friend sent recently and which I mentioned last week.

'Irish Molly' with mixed violas

So all the fun lies ahead, the seed sowing, the nourishing and cherishing of the seedlings, the testing of their qualities.  I suppose the solitary bumble bee I met bobbing around the tubs today might well feel a similar anticipation - sadly, I may never know.