Hello, Walking in my neighbourhood I've seen lovely, tiny, violets blooming in people's lawns. Does anyone know what these are, if there are any problems introducing them to an existing tapestry lawn, and where they can be sourced (from seed or in flats)? Thanks in advance for your assistance.
The blueish flowers in the first photo look like Slender Speedwell, Veronica filiformis, a fairly common weed around here. I'm not familiar with the white flowers.
Tiny flowers in your first pic are Veronica sp. I have them growing in a little compartment in my rock garden. They never tried to escape from there, so I think they are not aggressive and the only problem could be with trying to keep them growing in the lawn. I also have Viola odorata spilled over on the lawn from the bed were it was planted. The scent of the flowers early in spring is wonderful and l love them, but some peps find them too aggressive. Viola tricolor is reseeding itself in unexpected places, but I love those multicolored little flowers blooming since early spring through to the late fall, too. I had however still another kind of Viola, Viola sororia, that I would not recommend even to the enemy. The conclusion is, be very careful what kind of Viola you introduce in your lawn.
I have V. filiformis growing in my lawn and have been trying to eradicate it for years. I pinch the plants out wherever I spot the little blue flowers, but the plants keep coming back. There should be no problem growing them in a lawn if you actually want them there.
Veronica filiformis prefers shade, moist soils, good fertility, everything what it doesn't have in my gardens here in the Kootenays. It probably has it all where you live Vitog.
I love violets in lawns and I know of lawns in south Okanagan and also at the coast nr Vanc They are so pretty and don’t invade (unless you need a golf course putting green turf!) Here is a photo I took other day nr Vanc The violet flowers are approx size of US/Cdn dime coin (as are the leaves) I have tried to transplant some but I cannot get them to establish This lawn is a shaded moist area. Basically - if Moss grows I would say a violet grows The other detail to note is I observe this to be a very old lawn —- 50 yrs and was a forest before subdivision developed This lawn w purple also has an amazing display of yellow wild violets under huge fir trees - so small and yet very striking carpets of yellow. WHAT IS official Latin name of this purple violet?
I am not certain of the official latin name for this violet, but I think it might be Viola odorata. I was able to source seed at West Coast Seeds. Sweet Violet This plant is recommended for use in lawns at this website which is a collaboration with the UBC Botanical Garden. Keep Me Dry Lawn I've ordered some and will give it a try.
Oh I never thought to look for seeds ... and West Coast is reliable in my experience for seeds working out well Hère are some pix of the yellow violets near same place with purple violets Yellow violets in forest lawn nr vancouver
The pink ones are Viola riviniana. Its purple leaved form continues to appear at independent garden centers as V. "labradorica" 'Purpurea'.
The Viola odorata in my lawn just started to bloom. The scent is sweet and rejuvenating, especially at both ends of the day.
If you are interested, englak, you can have a look here Tapestry lawn at the flowers growing in my tapestry lawn.