All the Pretty Colours: Violets

Just the other morning, as I went to open the curtains in the "parlour"

 I noticed something a little unusual over in the corner where Kaitiaki's duplo lives & it

wasn't one of his fancy creations..

Oh my goodness look at that would you...an alstromeria looking for a warm place to grow!!

Fortunately,  Rob kindly volunteered to crawl under the house for the removal..phew!

I find myself perennially enchanted by sweet violets. I am not so sure that I should have planted the everyday purple variety but oh the fragrance.

In the language of flowers blue violets symbolize "faithfulness".. "I'll always be true".

 Maybe that's because once you have them they will never ever leave you, ever!

This little double parma violet is my favourite.

It is much more compact than all the others & not nearly as bossy, has smaller leaves & the flowers somehow sit above the foliage so that you can see them better. It is highly scented, gorgeously double & easy to pick.

My dear friend Gaye once had a job picking violets

...funny how you never see in the paper wanted

"violet picker" so I wonder how she got such a job?

violets actually come in more colours than you might imagine.

& of course they will happily make themselves at home

 in shady spots & under trees

 since they have spread around quite a bit it wasn't too

 much of a hardship to pick a few 

.... finding a wee late feijoa along the way...

but it was a little harder to bring myself to cook them!

 I have come across a very old recipe for syrup of violets

in a book published by Victoria magazine entitled 

"Dear Grandmother: Recollections of Love"

Basically, you pick as many violets as you like, 

add water or rose water, simmer them, 

strain them, add sugar & simmer them some more

 until you have a thick syrup.

At first my violet water was green oops..so I added a 

little lemon juice & the purple began to magically 

develop until it turned the most glorious colour of

...violets, of course!

Rob says it reminds him of Condy's Crystals : )

who knows what I will use it for..perhaps drizzled

 over strawberries??

I also adore little blue grape hyacinths. I guess they remind

 me of blue bells..it must be an amazing sight to see a 

bluebell wood..probably why I seem to have so many 

old pictures of them. 

This one is an old mirror version.

No wonder that I love the vintage Sanderson fabrics

..they are so timeless, romantic & floral!!

I was just thrilled with this fabric that I bought on Trade me

 this week. It came in the form of two single bedspreads

..wonderful lot of fabric & in beautiful condition!! 

Back outside & down the garden path, over near my 

worm farm I have made a small, slightly raised vege garden.

 It's a good little spot to catch the winter sun

& perfect for growing all the early spring salady things

I was really taken by this idea of a "shelf bunting" 

that I found on we heart it this week

so I had a fiddle with some vintage sheets & scraps of 

Sanderson & was rather pleased with this

Spotlight has some really cute bias binding at the moment

the pink spot was also available in a vintage green 

& turquoise blue.

Just tied this here to try it out : )

 I hope you've all had a good week.

MUCH