In the early morning magic hour when the sky is watercolor pink, I pull on my muck boots, gather my snips, a basket plus a few jars and head off to hunt for violets in the wild. Common blue violet (Viola odorata), also known as wild violet, sweet violet and wood violet, is a self-seeding perennial that grows in meadows, at the edge of forests and in shaded lawns. I harvest the brilliant blueish purple blossoms from April through mid-June to make violet cordials for cocktail mixers. I take care to diversify my foraging locations and leave plenty of flowers for pollinators and anyone else in search of such marvelous nectar (or what I call nectarous marvels). Violets favor well-drained soil and partial sun. Since my backyard is canopied by a giant maple, my search begins there. Ten minutes and two big handfuls of blossoms later, my basket is half full.
Next, it’s a stroll to the park to check for a violet patch along a stone wall, but after a half-hour and not much luck, I finally spot an exceptional patch of creamy white violets (Viola striata) with thin purple stripes and the same heart-shaped leaves as their purple cousin. White violets don’t impart the same magenta color into the cordial, but they add a nice floral dimension, so I pick a handful for the basket.
My final stop is near Narragansett Bay at the field of a farmer friend and, after a quick hello by the barn, I follow the path out to the meadow. Beyond a forgotten hay bale and an old wooden fence, I discover a blanket of violets big enough to cartwheel across. And bingo! Nearby, I spy some ostrich fern fiddleheads, which I grab on the way for pickling.
After plucking a few more violet bunches, I’m ready to process the season’s first batch of violet cordial. It will be a couple of weeks before I can share the fruit of my morning’s labor, but I assure you that I’ll be ready to celebrate with a round of The Magic Hour, a cocktail that captures the floral essence of spring, sip by sip.
A note about foraging: Please use caution when foraging and IDing wild plants. Never harvest plants that have been sprayed with pesticides and always seek permission before foraging on public or private property.
