We bought our first house in Hulme, Manchester, in the autumn of 2006. Nothing had been done to the ‘garden’ since the house had been built, eight years previously, and when we first moved in, we were more preoccupied by ripping out the cat-pee-smelly carpets than doing anything to the ragwort-infested rubble out the back.
By the time spring arrived, I was resembling a beached whale, awaiting the imminent arrival of number one son. My mum parachuted in from North Yorkshire, created a space for a border, and put some plants in, so at least there was something attractive to look at whilst standing at the kitchen sink. Enter the creeping violas, or Labrador violets - Viola labradorica.
I can’t even remember where the original planting location was, but the viola family has an ingenious ballistic method for dispersing seeds, so is capable of spreading them over quite substantial distances. This became apparent a year or so later; creeping violas were popping up in the top of all my containers, between patio paving stones and even in the raked gravel in the next door neighbour’s garden.
Sadly, my mum died in 2015, shortly after we moved into our current house - so she was never able to see the larger and rather more interesting garden we’ve started to create here, now. However, her legacy lives on: the creeping violas have managed to make their way down the road from Hulme to Whalley Range, presumably in the top of the larger ceramic containers that were transported whilst still planted up.
They are now accompanied by some Cardamine hirsuta in a couple of the older, neglected containers. They are also sprouting from the base of the wall with the self-seeded Buddleja, and seem to be establishing themselves in the slate chips that make up the garden path.
Viola labradorica - sprouting out of the base of the wall
At this time of year, the creeping violas have pretty little blue flowers, alongside their heart-shaped leaves, which also have a bit of a blue tinge. They are happy in shade and dry-ish soil, which is probably why they are still flourishing in our present garden. I unintentionally managed to introduce them to the borders when I transplanted a couple of container-grown Fuchsias, which wasn’t really what I wanted.
However, last week, I noticed that the violas are starting to pop up in my lawn. I think they look really lovely there, and they are most welcome. It can be another excuse for me to leave it a bit longer before each mow.
Viola labradorica - now invading the lawn, but I’ll let them stay.