Viola cornuta 'Chantreyland'

Viola cornuta 'Aprikosenfarbe' the name’s a mouthful, but the flower’s all grace - thank heavens it also is known as Viola 'Chantreyland'. This is a dainty little number with real charm. Soft apricot petals, with hints of cream and washed with a blush of sunset pink

A perennial, though often treated like an annual in cooler spots, this variety prefers moist, well-drained soil and partial shade. Too much sun and she gets a bit sulky. Compact and tidy, 15 to 25cm (6 to 10in) tall, the plants will spread gently and blooms their hearts out from spring till late autumn, especially if you keep them trimmed and watered.

Viola 'Chantreyland' has been in cultivation since 1923, a product of late 19th-century breeding in Britain and Europe, when growers set their sights on compact, cool-season charmers in a painter’s palette of shades.
She’s made for edging, containers, or nestling into cracks in old stone.The fragrant flowers are also edible. Hardy too, she’ll hold her ground when the cold sets in. A quiet beauty, but in the right spot, she sings, Quite unforgettable once you’ve met her.

Viola 'Chantreyland' is a bloom with history in its veins, named for the garden in Shropshire, England, once the home of plant breeder Margery Fish, a grand dame of cottage gardening, she had a taste for soft, subtle colours and informal planting.
Margery Fish moved to East Lambrook Manor in Somerset in 1937, and began transforming the grounds into what would become a landmark of the cottage garden style. Her books helped shape post-war British gardening, especially among those with small plots and romantic sensibilities.

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.
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:
The prolific blooms of violas and pansies offer a welcome splash of colour, but many gardeners don’t think of using them as cut flowers. These delicate flowers work best in small bottles and vases. And when you bring them into the warmth of your house you’ll notice, perhaps for the first time, their sweet fragrance.

Edible Flowers:
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 pansies in the kitchen, be sure not to use pesticides or other chemicals.

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. In the late 1900s, breeders in both Britain and Europe were churning out these charmers with an eye for compact growth, cool-season bloom, and a painter’s palette of colours.
Viola 'Chantreyland' has been in cultivation since 1923, a product of late 19th-century breeding in Britain and Europe, when growers set their sights on compact, cool-season charmers in a painter’s palette of shades.

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.
Viola 'Chantreyland' is a bloom with history in its veins, it takes its name from Chantreyland, a garden in Shropshire, England. Once the home of plant breeder Margery Fish, a grand dame of cottage gardening.

Margery Fish:
Margery Fish (1888-1969) was one of the most important influences on English Cottage Gardening. It is mainly due to her enthusiasm and love of plants that the cottage gardening tradition has been kept alive. She turned to gardening when she was in her mid-forties and went on to develop the whole concept of a cottage garden. She had a love of flowers coupled with a passion for nature and made an intensive research into the traditionally grown plants with which cottage gardens in Britain were once so densely planted.
Margery Fish was one of the most admired gardeners and garden writers of her day, after Vita Sackville-West. Her many articles and books inspired garden enthusiasts with her easy read knowledge and observation. A passion for nature and ability to mix plants effectively even in the smallest space and in differing environments, made her ideas relevant to all gardeners of her time and for future generations of gardeners.