PlantFiles: Johnny Jump-Up, Heartsease, Wild Pansy, Love-in-idleness, Call-me-to-you, Pinkeney John, Herb Trinit
Viola tricolor

Johnny Jump-ups have been every where I've ever lived for as long as I can remember (67 yrs.) Bethlehem, Harrisburg, Reading, and now Bath PA. They now are growing in scrappy shale type soil and it's the first time they seem to be getting leggy and straggly. They make a comeback from their centers if cut back but there are so many, it's too time consuming, I just rake them out, (shallow roots and all) and there are still enough seedlings to fill in.
If they weren't so cute I'd call them weeds.
Forgot to add we had tons of them when I lived with my Nana in the Pocono Mts., Marshalls Creek, Stroudsburg area!

This was my husband's favorite little flower when he was growing up and so, when we moved to our acreage almost 15 years ago, we had to get some from his mom for our garden. They are still happily reseeding and coming up here year after year.

We are in zone 2b and lots of people in our area have Johnny Jumpups in their gardens here.

Brenda

This is a reseeder but a welcome one. It looks pretty growing near or under almost any other plant. And it looks especially lovely en masse.

These cheerful little violets are welcome everywhere. They look great in mass plantings as was mentioned before.

I bought plants three years ago, a year after I moved into my new house. The second year, violets popped up in places I didn't plant them. The fourth year, this year, they've multiplied.

They grow in part sun, in a bed where I have bulbs. After the bulbs have finished flowering, the violets start flowering and are great fillers.

These are the only "flat-faced" violas that I'm aware of that can survive our hot humid summers in NE Fla. All other typical pansies dry up in the heat around June and don't return. I finally got some Viola tricolor started from seed, though it took several attempts to get viable seed and plant them at just the right time of year in the right conditions. Now that they are growing on their own, I hope that they will spread prolifically.

These have been my favorite flower for well over 50 years. I first noticed them growing in container on my grandmother's porch. (A 'trough' made from an old hot water heater.) The faces always made me smile as a child...and the never fail to live up to the name I learned to call them... "Johnny Jump-up" The are the first blooms in my garden in the spring...and the last ones in the fall. Sometimes they even flower in *December* after the first snow! (I live in Wisconsin, so that's saying a lot!)

~julie~

I noticed no one from TN commented or added that they grow these lovelies. My neighbor's yard is covered with them and they look beautiful in mass. If they show up in a wrong area they are easy to remove. It is late March and they are blooming already.

A really delightful little plant. Yes they seed around but for me they are always welcome, they seem to fit in anywhere. I wouldn't be without them.

I love the variation in colors that you can get in a small patch of plants.

This little fellow goes on and on. It self seeds and so far I have not had to replant it no matter where I have lived. It has smiled for me and given me more surprises than I can count. I will always keep them around........

And did you know: you can eat the flowers

Johnny jump ups are in the same family as violets and are edible. The leaves of Violets are high in vitamin c.

I like the candied violet flowers, dip the flowers in a light egg wash, sprinkle with a fine suger, allow them to dry.
8o)
Chow.......

Planted in shallow wood chip bed; the white and light blue/white mixed do not seem to be as prolific self-sowers as the tricolor purple. Although our area is zoned 4-5 in the Berkshire mountains of Western Mass. we have zone 3 winters occasionally and I can count on happy faces peeping up at me after I have removed two feet of snow during the month of February. When the snows melt in spring the violas are the only color in the gardens blooming non-stop through winter. The plants become a little leggy and dried during the month of August due to lack of water however they return to their former splendor in mid-september when all other flowers begin to wane. Collected seeds spread in other gardens have been successful. The deep purple viola blends well with garden sage for a bed border. This little plant is dependable and vivacious in any setting and soil.

Wonderful little viola! I started the plants from seed just two months ago, and it's already blooming! That's a record for this area, where we often get late spring cold snaps that slow down little seedlings. I can't wait to see how well it spreads in the garden, I hope to have a carpet of them blooming in a year or two.

These are nice little summer flowers. They seem to hold up much better than their much larger cousins. I planted the verigated, along with some solid purple, and solid yellow ones last year in a self-watering planter, and they grew so big they began to fall out of the pot! Even cutting them back doesn't seem to deter this flower. They just keep comming until Fall kicks in. A lovely little flower. I look forward to planting more this summer.

Edgewood, Washington

Great little "pansy" that is just as happy to be growing in the cracks of the drive or the gravel of the walk. It spreads everywhere, but what is not to love about this little face.

Great little plant. Mine wasn't even affected by the 100 degree heat all summer in full sun out here in Southern California. Had lots of blooms all summer up until mid fall, and started reblooming again at the begining of January. I found a few seedling sprouting out of the ground at the begining of February.

This is a wonderful plant in an naturalized setting. It was growing in my lawn, in direct sunlight, when we lived in Connecticut. The plant added a nice bit of color to the grass and was a profuse self seeder. Still, the plant had proper manners and it was not invasive. Live and let live seems to be in its personality. It is readily available in our Virginia garden shops and I plan to test plant them next Spring.

it's now florida in december and my violas, all three colors, are still making happy faces. we've even had a slight freeze and the violas never blinked. a most gratifying plant, flowers freely, though small, doesn't seem to need much care. i'll add to this when the southern summer gets going.

Self-sowing without being invasive and with the sweetest little flowers.

A variable short-lived plant native to Europe and naturalised elsewhere.

Has heart shaped to ovate basal leaves and oblong to ovate stem leaves which can be downy or hairless, toothed and mid to deep green. Bears small, brightly coloured flowers in blue, white and yellow with dark purple whiskers.

Flowers April to November

Loves a well-drained soil in sun to light shade. Needs shade in hot climates and the hottest parts of the day.

It has been used in the past for medicinal purposes but can be violently purgative.