Violas with their adorable faces always make a bold and colourful statement in your winter garden.
I love seeing these colourful faces in gardens and nurseries as they make me feel happy and energetic. I shop at different nurseries to find unique combinations to plant in my garden and each year I discover a bigger variety than the year before. For me, they are a must in the winter garden to bring in some colour and happiness.
Violas are versatile plants and tolerant of extreme weather conditions. There are native to Eastern and Western Europe and there are over 550 species. They reach a height of about 15cm with five petal flowers and heart shaped leaves.
The violas come in many shades and combinations of colours: yellow, orange, blue, maroon, purple, mauve, lavender, pink, red, white and back. The perfect plant for garden edges, hanging baskets and pots.
They bloom in winter, are annual plants but self-seed all over your garden so you can enjoy them for years. You can germinate the seeds indoors for 4-6 weeks before planting them out. They take about 12 weeks to bloom.
Violas enjoy full sun and thrive in rich and moist soil. Water them when dry only. Plant them in mid fall as they can survive freezing temperatures. You need to deadheading them quite frequently to enjoy their prolific blooming.
