Viola walteri Silver Gem

Viola walteri 'Silver Gem' is a very different violet that is never found in our gardens: it was collected in 2003 in the undergrowth on the south side of the Appalachian Mountains. It is a small creeping plant that stands out for its beautiful silver-tinted foliage highlighted by dark veins. It blooms early in spring, in the form of tiny blue-violet flowers and slowly forms a precious groundcover that requires no maintenance. Perfect for covering the base of deciduous trees and shrubs, it will also thrive in a shady rockery, and will sometimes self-seed wherever it pleases.

Viola walteri, from the Violaceae family, is a plant native to the mountainous areas of the southeastern U.S.A. It is found in deciduous forests, on limestone soil, most often in rocky and dry habitats. The 'Silver Gem' cultivar was selected for the beauty of its foliage with silver reflections.

It is a prostrate perennial plant with short rhizomes composed of creeping violet stems that root at the nodes. It forms a tuft 10 cm (4in) high and 25 cm (10in) wide, which will spread over time into a dense carpet. Its foliage is deciduous in cold climates, but semi-evergreen in our milder regions. The stems bear heart-shaped leaves, with slightly toothed edges and long petioles. The lamina is silver in colour, with dark olive green or more or less violet veins. The undersides of the leaves are violet. Flowering occurs in spring, earlier or later depending on the climate, usually in March-April. It can sporadically flower again until autumn. The leafy stems are adorned with tiny blue-violet flowers that stand out well against the silver foliage. After pollination, the flowers give way to capsules containing tiny seeds.

Violets, along with the first tits, announce the end of winter. This one will be one of the first to bloom, in shaded rockeries and undergrowth. 'Silver Gem' violets can be planted anywhere: at the base of trees, hedges, in and on retaining walls, in pots or in a window box, to have them right under your nose while staying warm. In general, violets, just like liverworts, are wandering plants, rebellious to being confined. You plant them in one place, only to find them elsewhere and much more beautiful the following year. In a natural garden, you can associate Viola walteri 'Silver Gem' with Phlox divaricata, Chrysogonum virginianum, Iris cristata, Silene regia, or even Waldsteinia ternata, for example.