These are usually produced in abundance in late winter and early spring. They have a strong scent and taste of parma violet and make a superb and decorative addition to salads Sweet violets have various other uses in the garden, including various medicinal uses. For example, it has a strong folk reputation in the treatment of cancer and whooping cough. It also contains salicylic acid, which is used to make aspirin, and is therefore effective in the treatment of headaches, migraine and insomnia. An essential oil from the flowers and leaves is used in perfumery and the flowers themselves are used to flavour breath fresheners.
Propagation is easiest by division of an established plant.
Simply break off a small section that has roots, pot it up for a few weeks until established and then plant out. Spring is perhaps the best time to do this, but we find that it works well just about any time. Seed is best sown in the autumn in a cold frame. The seed requires a period of cold stratification and the germination of stored seed can be erratic. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer.