Who said anything about violets, Violet?

Violets are funny little things. Presently, they cannot readily be found in many flower shops, unless of course one shops near where they are grown, which is pretty much only in the Pacific states. A century ago, however, violets were one of the most popular cut flowers, ranking just behind roses, carnations, and chrysanthemums. Viola odorata is a short-lived flower, lasting at most four days from when it is picked, but it's sweet scent enhanced it's popularity during the Victorian era (Stewart 62). Currently there are over 500 species including unscented violas and pansies, which can be found in many gardens across the country.

In the early 1890s, Rhinebeck, New York was the violet capital of the world. Violets were easy to grow in the winter, but somewhat tricky to harvest in the spring. Workers would often have to lay atop wooden planks so not to damage the violet's delicate blooms. At a time when a florist was defined as a person who both grew and sold flowers, violets were easy to come by if one lived near a farm outside the city where they were grown. From the 1890s until WWI, Rhinebeck produced 35 million bloosoms a year, while a bunch sold for less than a dollar. With such a powerful and enjoyable scent, violets came to be used for perfumes and even breath fresheners for Victorian women (Stewart 63).

Around the same time that Rhinebeck was becoming the world's violet capital, Dominik Garibaldi was coming into his own in California. Travelling to California in in the early 1900s, Garibaldi settled in the San Mateo valley just south of San Francisco (Robinson). With it's well-drained sandy soil, cool ocean breezes, and seasonal winter rains from the Pacific, the area was perfect for violet-growing. The Garibaldi violet farm is one of the last violet farms in the country and probably the most well-known. They produce about 15,000 bunches per year with 25-35 blossoms per bunch (Stewart 70).

Violet fun facts:

• Napoleon Bonaparte's wife, Josephine, loved violets and wore them on their wedding day. Napoleon adopted them as part of his campaign when he was banished from the country, encouraging his followers to wear them while proclaiming that he would "return with the violets in the spring" (Albert).
• Violets have been used for centuries as an herbal remedy for sore throats, as a sleep aid, and against inflammations. Later, it was discovered that violets contained a soothing mucilage that was laced with a salicylic acid, a precurser of asprin (Albert).
• "Unlike most other florists' flowers, they [violets] have not been improved upon, genetically modified, or coaxed into growing taller or living longer. There as been no perfume thrown on [...] violets" (Stewart 66).