The whole Viola genus is filled with wonderful fragrance, flowers and food yet rarely used as a source as perennial greens. That was my quest when I first started growing them in quantity. As a perennial vegetable, I was surprised there wasn’t much on their palatability, yields or flavor. Once I began the collecting process using both seeds and plants, I soon found the Viola universe. Certainly there was the bedding plant industry and its wonderful selections but what about Bob? The odd ball but lovable flowering plant that people desparately try to get rid of in their lawns using baby steps and industrial strength medicines. How are these plants under cultivation? Using both cultivated seed selections and wild species here in Michigan, I began a journey that took about a decade to produce them for my nursery. In the end Bob stayed and soon my edible green family of violets flourished in the shade of the chestnuts, hickory and hybrid oaks at my farm.
