Welcome!

        Hi, welcome to my blog! I named this blog after my Instagram handle, which is @violetisnotaweed. The name symbolizes several things I love: beauty, nature, and resilience, to name a few. 

Violets are my favorite flowers.  They aren't weeds! They are native plants here in the eastern United States, and they serve at least two very important purposes. After a long winter, they are one of the earliest sources of nectar and pollen for bees and butterflies, and they are the sole host plants for several species of fritillary butterfly. The butterfly larvae which grow fat on violet leaves are a rich, easily digested source of protein for songbirds and their babies. 

An untreated lawn in April is an absolutely gorgeous blanket of purple! When the flowers fade, the leaves fill in any bare space available. They stay green all summer, without supplemental water, and they stand up to foot traffic and mowing. 

As any lawn perfectionist will tell you, they are tough plants. They spread by seed and underground stolons. Weedkillers don’t always work on them. They’re almost impossible to eradicate. 

But, really, why would you want to wipe out such a beautiful, useful, hardworking plant? The sterile lawn of monoculture grass is a relic of the past.  Today’s lawn is a tapestry of grass interwoven with a myriad of tiny, life-supporting plants. But that’s a subject for another post….

Thanks for stopping by! Come back and visit any time. Unlike my house, this blog is always ready for visitors.