Wild Violets

As a mother of three, I want to take care of my kids to the best of my ability. I can’t think of a better way of doing that than by making all-natural products for us to use. You know, without all the toxic stuff in it. That way, I know what ingredients are going into their bodies and that it will benefit them. Because of the way things are going in this world, with our government trying to kill us all off slowly by poisoning us, we have to go the extra mile to keep our families safe. A great way to make these products is by using weeds that are probably growing in or around your lawn right now! They are called wild violets.

I’m talking about those tiny little purple/bluish flowers that pop up near shady areas in your yard. These little flowers are amazing and healthy for you! If you are weeding these out of your garden then I encourage you to stop! You can use these pretty plants as food, medicine, or to create your own body care products. I will share with you one way you can do this!

One activity my kids enjoy is picking flowers or other plants from the yard. What a lot of parents don’t know is that there are so many common weeds in our backyards that can be foraged and used for food, medicine, or body care products! I'd like to point out that you should NEVER forage a weed from an area where there have been pesticides sprayed like on the sides of roads and tracks. When I first learned of the benefits of some of the weeds in my yard I was amazed and shocked at the same time. If these plants are so good for you then why doesn’t everyone forage and use them? One, because not everyone knows much about them. Two, technology has created toxic products that make us believe that they are good for us when they are not. They make us think that it's easier to just buy it from the store.

So, if someone is looking to find a product to heal their acne they will just go to the store or look up a product online. This will result in them using a product that may contain God only knows what kind of toxins. The same goes for the food we eat and the medicine we ingest. That's another thing that is changing in this world, we cannot afford what we used to be able to anymore. All the more reason to make our food and medicines ourselves.

Now, I’m not saying that everything we give our children has to be natural. I am certainly not saying to stop giving your kids candy or to stop buying their soap and lotion from the store. I'm saying replacing an unhealthy choice with a healthy one here and there is going to lead to better, healthier choices. If you want your kids to eat less junk food and candy then take baby steps. Don’t just throw it all out the window and expect them to be good with it. In other words, go at your own pace when learning about home remedies. Make sure to do all the research before trying it out yourself. The reason for this is that some varieties can cause an upset stomach.

Benefits of Wild Violets

Here is a convincing list of benefits that wild violets have:

· Reduce inflammation

· Relieve sore throat

· Fights cold symptoms

· Battles sinus infections

· Strengthens immune system

· Lowers cholesterol

· Helps in treating insomnia

· Detoxifies the body by helping eliminate waste

· Helps treat fibrocystic breast disease and varicose veins

· Helps treat psoriasis, acne, dry skin, bug bites, and psoriasis

· Helps treat UTIs (Urinary Tract Infections) and ulcers

· Helps treat scurvy, mumps, and whooping cough

Native Americans even used poultices made from wild violets to treat headaches. This is probably because the salicylic acid found in aspirin is also found in the flower. Don’t get me wrong these are some great health benefits but you should be warned to be cautious because it is a mild laxative as well. Just make sure you don’t ingest too much of it at one time.

However, there are more awesome superpowers these weeds have that I can share with you. For instance, the leaves and flowers can both be used as they contain tons of antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins. They are especially loaded with vitamins A and C. Not to mention, in spring they hold twice as much vitamin C compared to an orange and twice the amount of vitamin A compared to spinach. Do NOT eat or use the roots of wild violets. They will make you sick. Also, do not mix up wild violets with African violets (a pretty houseplant that will make you sick if you try to eat or ingest it).

Edible and Medicinal Uses

Even though the leaves are just as nutritious as the flowers they taste a little bland. The leaves can be used in salads, cooked or steamed, in soups, and however else you would like to use them in your food. Just as well, the flowers can be used for all these things. Some people even freeze the flowers inside ice cubes to make their drinks cute and festive. The flowers can also be made into jellies, teas, candies, vinegar, syrups, and mead. You can decorate desserts with the flowers to add some nice color to them or just to make them picture-worthy. Because these weeds have antiseptic properties, they are ideal in salves and ointments. Other topical uses include balms, poultices, infused oil, compress, lotions, and even soaps.

Identifying and Foraging

Wild violets are most commonly found in May and June in most places. From what I have researched, they are native to central and eastern Canada and the U.S. They bloom from the early spring (March and April) to the early summer months. The reason for this is that the summer heat usually kills them off until the next springtime. This is why you will most likely find them in or near shady areas where the soil retains moisture.

There are some tricks you can try to prolong the blooming process in your garden or yard. If you can keep the daytime temperature below 80 degrees you may be able to keep them blooming a little bit longer. When it gets hotter, you can try spraying water on them in the late morning or afternoon. If you have a greenhouse or cooler area you can plant some violets there. They spread super-fast. As with most herbs, you want to harvest these in the mornings or sometime before noon, when they have dew on them still.

You can dry the violets to use throughout the year. That way, you won’t have to wait until next spring if you can find and forage as many of them as you can. The flowers are purplish/blue but can sometimes be found in other colors. However, the ones in my area are either purple or blue. They have a slight droop to them. The leaves have a heart-like shape to them and have serrated edges(saw-toothed). From what I have read, they can grow to be from 15-25 cm tall. The ones in my yard are pretty short.

The first time we gathered wild violets we made wild violet lemonade. I used this recipe as a reference but did not do exactly the same things they did. We soon realized that gathering 2/3 cups of violets from our small yard was a little harder than we thought. Also, we used bottled lemon juice because we didn’t have any fresh lemons on hand at the time. I was impatient and wanted to show my kids the awesome color-changing magic that happens when you add lemon juice.

We ended up with almost half a cup of fresh wild violets. Basically, you make violet tea with the flowers, this can be done on the stove or in the microwave. Making the tea involves straining out the flowers for those who don’t know. Then added sugar (we added 4 Tbsp. and it was way too sweet). Additionally, a healthier alternative to sugar would be honey. After that, we let the drink cool as instructed. Then came the cool color-changing moment from adding the lemon juice to the mix. The beverage before adding the lemon juice should be either dark blue or purple. Upon adding the lemon juice, it will transform into a beautiful pink color that is really fun to watch.

I did not measure the lemon juice so I am sorry that I don’t have the exact measurement for you guys. The next time I experiment with making wild violet lemonade I will be sure to record the exact measurements that I use. So, I will be updating you in the future.

I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read through my posts. I will be adding my printables soon and you can browse through my other posts if you enjoyed this one. You can follow me on Pinterest and Facebook and email me should you have any questions!