Tuesday, February 01, 2011

'HERE WE ARE TO COMFORT YOU ..." (GARDEN BLOGGERS' MUSE DAY) VIOLETS ~ FEBRUARY FLOWER OF THE MONTH)

"Look at us, said the violets blooming at her feet, all last winter we slept in the seeming death but at the right time God awakened us, and here we are to comfort you."

~ Edward Payson Rod

DOWNY YELLOW VIOLET
(Viola pubescens)

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THE VIOLET

Down in a green and shady bed,
A modest violet grew;
Its stalk was bent, it hung its head
As if to hide from view.

And yet it was a lovely flower,
Its colour bright and fair;
It might have graced a rosy bower,
Instead of hiding there.

Yet thus it was content to bloom,
In modest tints arrayed;
And there diffused a sweet perfume,
Within the silent shade.

Then let me to the valley go
This pretty flower to see;
That I may also learn to grow
In sweet humility.





WHITE VIOLET
(Viola striata)

COMMON BLUE VIOLET
(Viola sororia)


"The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks."

~ Tennessee Williams

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for Garden Bloggers' Muse Day

27 comments:

  1. Oh, I just got some Violets.
    I have a long bad family history with...we'll see.

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  2. I know of a patch of white violets that are asleep right now under the snow. Can't wait to see them come spring. Thanks for reminding me of them on this cold, snowy day.

    I always enjoyed Garden Bloggers' Muse Day. Not sure why I stopped participating.

    donna

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  3. Dearest Joey, Violas are such pretty flowers and their fragile looks belie their hidden strength I always feel. In the iciest blasts one may give them up for dead only to find that at the first hint of warmth they spring back up again, always with a happy face!

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  4. Joey, Your photos are each like a beautiful painting. Those violets... sleeping babies. Have you just received another blast of Winter Weather? (We're getting snow and ice.) Stay warm and safe! Blessings!

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  5. I hear you, Patsi. I too have a love/hate relationship with violets. I love sweet bouquets, tossing them in salads, and candied. However, they are much too happy here and I spend many gardening hours chasing them away.

    Hi Donna. I often forget too but needed something cheery after all my past snow posts :)

    Indeed happy spring faces, dearest Edith, but as sweet as they are, they are also pests! Not so much the yellow and white as the common purple. In the lawn, they are weeds!

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  6. You are always so kind, dear Shady. Thank you creative friend. Oh yes, a winter blast ... blizzard conditions ... 10-15 inches of snow starting sometime tonight! You too stay warm and safe. Warm winter ((hugs)).

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  7. Joey, Love your layered images! Wishing I had a pretty flower to play with here, but nothing but mounds of snow to photograph. Missing my garden and can't wait for a warm up!

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  8. Lovely sentiments on this first day of February, Joey. Your photos are just gorgeous. Thanks for posting for GBMD.

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  9. Hello Joey...just stumbled upon your blog! How lovely it is! Your photo's are beautiful, and a true inspiration and confirmation, as I look out my window at the falling snow, that spring will indeed come, and the violets will indeed bloom. Thanks! Mari

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  10. I love all these images Joey especially those tumbling violets. The art effects are wonderful and this is a fantastic museday post
    Laura

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  11. A lovely selection of violet prose Joey, and beautiful images too. Blooms in any form are comforting in mid-winter.

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  12. Welcome Sall and thank you. Please know you are not alone. I am surrounded by layers of snow with a HUGE storm on its way tonight/tomorrow. Believe me, this is a photo from warmer days ...

    Delighted to join you, dear Carolyn, and thank you kindly. Stay snuggly warm.

    Welcome Mari and thank you. Lovely thoughts for a snowy say.

    Thank you, Laura. How kind. Those sweet violets are squeezing through the cracks in my old stone patio. After they finished blooming, I probably ripped them out :)

    Thanks Clare. Fun to process something other than snow photos. Just what I needed considering the Whopper on the Way!

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  13. Wonderful post! Violets have always been close to my heart. I will remember the phrase "we are here to comfort you'" when I see them this spring.

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  14. Thank you, Deb. And as sure as spring will arrive, so will the sweet violets ...

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  15. Brava! Brava! Joey . . . your selections of poems are lovely and your photographs are stunning!! I love your first one and the cascading one especially. Beautiful!

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  16. These are such a pretty collection of images. I love the snow scene in the previous post too.

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  17. Thanks Carol ... you are a dear. Happy February :)

    Hi Jennifer and thank you. That was at the lake but we have an abundance of snow here too!

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  18. Dear Joey, a beautiful post and timely as my violets which were so happy just a day ago look completely frozen and lost...I'm hoping they will spring back to life once this cold air passes.

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  19. Beautiful processing - these images are truly works of art!

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  20. Violets remind me of my childhood. Searching for them in the dense forest of my neighbors yard, picking tiny little bouquets for my mom.
    Beautiful photo editing!

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  21. Thank you, Cat. Wow, violets already ... lucky you! Mine are still sleeping in a frozen bed under a heavy blanket of snow.

    Hello, Kala, and thank you fun photo sharing friend.

    Thanks, Rosey. You wouldn't have to search for violets in my garden/yard ... they are very plentiful in spring. Come help yourself and pick 'til your heart is content :)

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  22. Very beautiful images! love the second to last

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  23. Thank you, fer. That is the common violet in my garden/yard. Wish I had a penny for every one of these lovely faces that blooms ... I would be rich :)

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  24. Wouldn't it be lovely to see some violets blooming outside right now? Hope you are staying safe and warm, Joey.

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  25. Joey,

    I toiled for many years in my old old house to clear out the common invasive violets so I could plant some other things. Now, I go out and buy violets each year for my spring garden. They are beautiful!

    Eileen

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  26. Indeed it would, Rose, but snoring under this deep blanket of snow.

    Wish you lived near, Eileen. I'd only be too happy to share :)

    Thanks, Jill :)

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