Johnny Jump Up (Viola)

Violas are one of the signature heirloom flowers of this world. There are more than 500 known species, and they are indigenous to every continent except Antarctica. According to Tovah Martin in her book, Heirloom Flowers, “They were among the first flowers to be grown commercially, sold in the Athens markets in 400BC. Near the end of the 19th century in America, violets were so popular that huge violet farms existed near all of the major cities to supply fresh flowers to the markets. San Francisco boasted the most famous of these farms and along the Hudson River near New York City, vast greenhouses grew the plants throughout the winters. Joseph Breck in his landmark book, Breck’s Book of Flowers, charmingly discusses the attributes of these flowers, “…an old acquaintance with every one who has had anything to do with a flower-garden. It begins to open its modest, but lively flowers as soon as the snow clears off in the spring, and continues to enliven the garden till the snow comes again.”
Johnny Jump Ups are hardy, but short-lived perennials that require some shade to perform at their best. The flowers are small, ¾ inch, miniature pansy-like blossoms that range in color from white to yellow to purple to blue and occasionally a pinkish purple.