And no...This is not a new mystery novel by acclaimed writer and Washington DC insider Margaret Truman

but

The American Violet Society's 2000 Annual Fall Meeting
At a new venue, Washington, DC's National Cathedral

             The venue for this November 11 violet event was indeed small and intimate, and consequently, with regard to attendees versus capacity, not a huge success, but in every other way it was outstanding and unforgettable.

             When you enter the front door of the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. you know you are not going to be attending any ordinary meeting. The cathedral is on a hill (yes, once you get away from the swamp where downtown was built, there are hills in Washington), and we were on the seventh floor, in one of the towers so we had a fantastic view of the whole city and the gardens below framed by the pinnacles of the cathedral's roof. Not a view every visitor to D.C. gets to see!

             The first speaker was Professor Vigen Guroian, author of the beautiful book of essays called Inheriting Paradise. He spoke of his personal love of violets dating from childhood and told us that violets were traditionally used to represent both the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus, as a symbol of humility and a springtime symbol of rebirth. Violet is the liturgical color for Advent, the season of the disappearance of the sun and the green world but also the season that leads up to the joyous Christmas birth and the New Year. He said that spring is with us now but is underground, sleeping, an idea I found very comforting.

             Professor Guroian noted that humus and humility are from the same root word. In her presentation, Norma Beredjiklian spoke about the sad decline in popularity of the violet since its 19th and early 20th century height, and I would suggest that decline of the violet and the decline in popularity of the virtue of humility may be related. In the present time of ever bigger houses, cars, salaries and egos, a renewal of interest in violets would be a positive development indeed.

             Kim Blaxland showed us slides of American native violets. What a treat! Her photography of violets is on the same level as her knowledge of violets, and we saw photos from all over the country. The West Coast seems to have more yellow violets than we do here in the east, and very beautiful ones. We saw a slide of a recently discovered (1990) violet on a cliff face in Zion Canyon in Utah, not a place where you might expect violets. And if you had been there you could have asked her some of your own questions about identification.

             Our next speaker was AVS member Jim Gallion of the National Wildlife Federation. We know about the necessity for preserving woodlands and prairies, but Jim's principal field of endeavor is the smaller scale but equally important goal of preserving backyard habitat. He spoke of the importance of planting our yards to provide shelter, nesting space and food in order to create corridors for wildlife between the larger woodland areas, and urged us to reduce the amount of lawn we have (less grass and more violets!). This decreases the amount of work you have to do and greatly increases the number of birds and butterflies you see. There is a website, www.nwf.org/habitats, that would be helpful if you want ideas for making your yard more creature-friendly.

             Then we had a violet tea, and although I am a tea lover and patron of tea shops wherever I go, I have never attended a more elegant tea. The scented tea was from Mariage Freres in Paris; we had finger sandwiches and cookies and the piece de resistance was a beautiful violet-decorated cake with American Violet Society inscribed on it, in violet of course. A delightful time was had by all.

             Even though it is November and violet season is past in this part of the country, we had violets from California to look at. Canyon Creek Nursery in Oroville, California had sent a number of plants: Mme. Armandine Pages, Princess of Wales, Mrs. David Lloyd George and others, and we each took home a violet bouquet from the Garibaldi family, violet growers in Northern California.

             We all know what a superb organizer Norma is. We are fortunate to have her skills directed toward building the AVS. Now I can assure you that she is just as superb as an event planner, and the next time she plans one, I urge you to make every effort to attend. You will be glad you did.

For additional information, please contact: events@americanvioletsociety.org

The AVS was very proud to join the Old White Garden Club & Greenbrier State Forest's 35th Annual Show-Me-Hike spring explorations with an emphasis on finding and identifying between 100-125 different flowering species of wildflowers, including local violets. 

AVS members, together with your cameras, journal books and other appropriate equipment participated in an array of tours, conducted by professional guides and designed to fit the atendee's botanical interests. Various tours were made available, according to hiking abilities and time length from: difficult/moderately difficult/easy and from 6 to 2 hours in duration. There was also a children's program. One important attraction for violet enthusiasts was the "Shale Barren" tour. This tour afforded the opportunity to observe, first hand, the 'Bird's Foot' violet, native to this habitat.

NO CHARGE for tours within the Forest. Transportation by van is included in designated tours.
Not included: Transportation to/from White Sulphur Springs (WV), accommodations and meals.