Viola utahensis

Have you been eager for Spring these past few sunny days? Have you seen the first pale crocus, or even an early grape hyacinth? We see their green shoots and flowers growing through the cold garden soil even before yellow daffodils proudly display themselves and wave hello.

And yet, we barely notice our own Utah Pansy (Utah Violet) that appears faithfully throughout winter’s cold and darkness. These flowers are brave; they are hardy, much like our pioneer ancestors. We see them through the snow, showing their blue and yellow colors in an otherwise white landscape. They are with us all year round. They are under appreciated and rarely written about.

I wonder if they were first brought here from the Eastern United States or came directly from England…and which early Utah settlers brought them out west and when exactly?

Historians first noted these flowers in Greece in the 4th century B.C. They were the first violas with written documentation.  They were later cross-bred and cultivated into our modern day violets and pansy flowers. They are sweet looking and have a pretty face, but not necessarily memorable. Odd because the name pansy is traced back to the French word “pensee”, meaning thought or remembrance. The particular flower species in Utah is called the “Viola utahensis”.

Olson’s Greenhouse in Salem, Utah has a great reputation for growing these strong flowers. They are wholesale only, but you can find their flowers at Home Depot, Wal-Mart & Lowe’s. Remember to shop local.

I took these photos outside Nordstrom’s in Fashion Place Mall in Murray.

For more information about flowers and plants in Utah, visit Utah State University’s web site  http://extension.usu.edu

For the botanist who might be reading, here is the exact genus of species:

Classification:
Viola utahensis