In the late 1800's, Devon was famous for producing violets for the cut-flower and perfume trades. 'Bournemouth Gem' is a sweet violet which was bred especially to produce violets for the trade in cut flower posies. The delicately scented purple-blue flowers are exceptionally large with an open wide form and are borne on long stems above the partially evergreen foliage. It has distinctive veined, heart-shaped leaves which are a little glossy.
Grows well in semi-shade or Full Shade with free draining, fertile soil.
Height: 15cm
Sweet violets have been grown for over 2000 years and were the symbol of ancient Athens. Violets were used in cookery in medieval times and strewn in rooms to disguise unpleasant smells. Essential oil is extracted from the flowers and is still used today in the perfume industry.
Common name(s): Sweet violet
All our plants are supplied in 9cm pots unless otherwise specified. Plants in this size pot establish quickly in the garden and often outpace plants in bigger pots planted at the same time. Our potted plants can be planted immediately, unless otherwise noted, or you can leave them in their pots until you are ready to plant.
The majority of our plants are grown outdoors. This means that they follow their natural growth patterns and are ready to plant at any time of the year. If you order the plants in winter, they are likely to be dormant and died back to ground level, ready to shoot again in spring - just like the herbaceous perennials in your own garden. Very occasionally, in winter and early spring, we may indicate on the packing slip that a plant needs to be hardened off before planting out. This will be because it has just come out of a polytunnel. If you have any questions about our plants or growing methods, please feel free to drop us an email.
We grow most of what we sell ourselves, in our nursery in the Buckinghamshire countryside. Our prices include VAT at 20%.
Please note: We do our best to provide acurate photographs of the plants we sell, but colours display differently on different screens, printers and in different light and we cannot guarantee that what you are seeing on your screen, or on the plant label provided, will exactly match the plant when it flowers in your garden. Plant dimensions are given as a guide only and the actual sizes reached may vary from garden to garden, depending on local conditions.
