Viola cornuta 'Brush Strokes'

Currently celebrated for reviving the charming, streaked and speckled blooms of old-fashioned violas, Viola cornuta ‘Brush Strokes’ has been carefully selected from a treasured collection of historic strains. This captivating variety is renowned for its unique, hand-painted appearance, producing blooms that appear as though delicately brushed with watercolour. Each flower showcases a harmonious blend of soft apricot, honey, plum, cream and lavender tones, often highlighted by intricate flecks and fine veining.

These antique varieties differ from modern compact cultivars, rather than being selected for a low, mounding habit, ‘Brush Strokes’ offers taller, more vigorous plants with varied heights. The free-flowering plants typically reach 25 to 40cm (10 to 16in) tall, making them ideal for borders, containers and cottage-style plantings.
Although violas are not commonly thought of as cut flowers, they pair well in bouquets, as well as in small bottles and vases. Sweetly fragrant, they bear flowers measuring 3.5 to 5cm (1½ to 2½in) in diameter.

A short-lived perennial often grown as an annual, it produces a profusion of blooms from early spring through to autumn, particularly when regularly deadheaded. It thrives in full sun to partial shade, prefers moist, well-drained soil and is notably low-maintenance and easy to grow from seed.
Beyond its ornamental charm, the blooms are edible, offering a delicate flavour and subtle fragrance, perfect for garnishing salads, cakes or summer drinks. Viola ‘Brush Strokes’ is both a visual delight and a versatile garden favourite, combining vintage elegance with culinary appeal.

Sowing:
Violas are perennial plants but are often treated as annuals or biennials. 60 days from seed. They can be sown practically all year if at temperatures of around 15 to 20°C (60 to 68°F) can be provided. Protect from very harsh weather.
They can be sown in December to February for May blooms. Sow before July for flowering in autumn, or sow September to December for larger spring blooms.

Use a good quality seed starting mix (John Innes or similar) or make a mixture of compost, a little vermiculite and a little sand to give drainage. Sieve the compost into pots or cell packs and press it down lightly. Add a little more compost if necessary. Make a small indentation with your finger and pop one seed into each indentation.
Light is not required for germination. A medium covering of coarse grade vermiculite is recommended to help maintain high humidity around the germinating seed, if you do not have vermiculite, cover lightly with sieved soil.
Place the containers in a cold greenhouse or outside in a cold frame, ideally at temperatures of around 15 to 20°C (60 to 68°F) Avoid temperatures above 21°C (70°F) to prevent seedling stretch. Maintain the soil at fairly wet moisture levels, i.e., the media is glistening, but water will not ooze out from the bottom of the tray and will penetrate only slightly from the top around the fingertip.

Transplanting:
Optimal outside growing temperatures are 60 to 70°F (15 to 21°C) days, and nights in the low 50s°F (11 to 15°C) for the first few weeks. Violas can also tolerate lower night temperatures – in the 40s°F (5 to 9°C). Fertilise with a balanced fertiliser in the growing media mix to encourage good foliar growth before flowering.
Violas will thrive in any good soil and, although they will do well in part shade, they appreciate plenty of sunshine. Viola flowers follow the sun, or, on dull days, they follow the best light. Plant them where you look at them with the sun or light behind you - then their flowers will face you.
If you want to achieve long stems so that they are suitable for bouquet work, plant them no more than 5 to 10cm (2 to 4in) apart.

Cultivation:
One thing that helps violas give their very best is regular dead-heading. So as soon as the flowers fade, nip them off. Use kitchen scissors or thumb and forefinger. During the growing season, fertilise the plants monthly with a balanced fertiliser. Water the plants well and allow to dry slightly before watering again.
Viola cornuta is hardy down to around minus 15°C, sometimes even minus 20°C if the soil is well-drained and it’s not sitting in wet soil all winter.

Plant Uses:
Violas combine well with spring bulbs and foliage plants in containers. They make excellent ground cover planted under shrubs and trees and the edible varieties can also be grown with mixed salad leaves. A few of the longer stemmed varieties in a small vase will last over a week and look magical.

Cut Flowers:
Violas work best as accent flowers in nostalgic, romantic arrangements. Their delicate blooms can be tucked in close to focal flowers or positioned along the edges of a bouquet to add subtle charm. In more formal designs, individual blooms can be wired and grouped together to create greater visual impact. On their own, violas are most effective displayed in small bottles or vases, or used in miniature table centrepieces where their dainty size can truly shine.
Freshly picked and unwired, viola blooms also make lovely edible or decorative garnishes. Perfect for adorning napkins, cake stands or place settings to echo the colours and style of accompanying floral arrangements.
Pick early in the morning or late in the day when the blooms are well-hydrated. Select blooms with firm stems and open faces. Immediately place stems in cool water and let them rest for a few hours to hydrate. You can also seal the ends with floral tape or use short floral picks for better structure.

Edible Flowers:
Perfect for garnishing salads, cakes or summer drinks, the entire blossom of violas can be eaten, including the petiole. (The leaves and roots aren’t considered fit for human consumption.). This is a huge advantage as you can use whole blooms in salads or as lavish garnishes on cupcakes or cream-based spring pies, without resorting to painstakingly plucking petals.
The blossoms frozen in ice cubes are always beautiful. The flowers make a beautiful addition to any spring meal, even if only as a decoration. If you are planning to use your violas in the kitchen, be sure not to use pesticides or other chemicals when growing the plants.

Origin:
Viola is the largest genus in the family Violaceae, containing between 525 and 600 species. Violets are native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere and are also distributed in Hawaii, Australasia, and the Andes in South America. Violets are found in moist and slightly shaded conditions such as hedgerows. The charming horned violas, Viola cornuta have been part of the English cottage gardens for generations.
Viola cornuta 'Brush Strokes' draws its charm from antique viola varieties that were cultivated widely from the late 18th century through the 19th century. The foundational species, such as Viola tricolor, were already being nurtured in kitchen gardens by the mid-1700s, and by the early 1800s breeders began crossing these with other species to produce richer florals and complex colouration.
In the early to mid-19th century, English and continental horticulturists refined these classics into violas with delicate markings and elegant petals, qualities that Viola cornuta ‘Brush Strokes’ embodies today. So, while the exact ancestor strains can be traced back to this rich era of viola breeding, ‘Brush Strokes’ itself is a modern resurrection of those historic cultivars.

Nomenclature:
The genus name Violet is the diminutive form of the Latin Viola, the Latin form of the Greek name Ione. There is a legend that when Jupiter changed his beloved Io into a white heifer for fear of Juno's jealousy, he caused these modest flowers to spring forth from the earth to be fitting food for her, and he gave them her name.
The species name cornuta derives from cornu, meaning 'horn', for the little spur or horn on the back of the flower.
It is also commonly called the Horned Violet due to the plant's distinctive spurred flowers.