African Violets

I have a new friend in the church, here, and she has promised to give me an african violet plant. I had some beautiful african violets in Ohio, but I got rid of them as we were packing up to move, because I thought that I could easily find more. Well, I have not been able to find ANY! I am rather shocked. The land of sunshine and plants and NO african violets!? I have been asking around and finally my new friend is going to give me one. I just asked for a leaf to start my own, but she is giving me a whole plant. So, I decided to trade violets with her and I found a nifty picture and drew it with pastels. I will frame it and trade with her. She says that she usually kills them, so I hope that she doesn’t kill this one.

What child has ever known the country and has not twined hundreds of fragrant wreaths with the yellow shining cowslip and the more frail and delicate violet – mingling here and there green leaves culled from the odorous eglantine, or, as we more commonly call it, sweetbriar. — Dorothea Dix