Now well into summer and with the glories of spring a wonderful memory of violet filled gardens and far away woodlands, we reflect with some melancholy on those delightful activities and new friends made. Yes, Spring 2000 was a wonderful time of discoveries for many violet lovers and most particularly for the friends of The American Violet Society. In the opinion of many, it cemented the ongoing commitment to preserve this wonderful flower and its place in the environment.

             I am also pleased to report that in just a few months, our new website made great progress. As a result, the organization acquired many new members as well as unexpected exposure in various horticultural circles on account of its mission and serious work. Better yet, several of these new members have joined in the activities and taken on responsible tasks. In this regard, I am more than delighted to announce to our Violet Gazette readers that our editorial staff has been increased by one. Please join me in welcoming Elizabeth Scott (New York), as our new Associate Editor. This is, indeed, a very happy event. Elizabeth brings to the Violet Gazette an outstanding knowledge of violets and years of experience in the research field. Her commitment and abilities are well evident in this Summer 2000 issue through her sensitive production of Christina Rossetti's "Violet Poems", the account of her travels last spring through the Great Smoky Mountains in "Violet Journeys" and the marvelous, timely piece "Butterflies and Violets." You will agree with me in that she's a most wonderful addition to our staff and the violet crusade.

             Another special friend of Violet Gazette and the AVS, is our board member and well-known New York plantsman, Scott D. Appell. He has contributed to this summer 2000 issue with his very exclusive "The Ethnobotanical Uses of the genus Viola by the Native Americans". This is a most interesting and unique report, and one that we welcomed with great anticipation. We are very grateful to Scott and more than honored to have it published in our journal. 

             Last but not least, we particularly thank George Braziller, Publisher (New York) for allowing us to reproduce "Inviolate Violet" excerpted from Love in the Garden, a book by French writer Jean-Pierre Otte and recently published in the United States. Otte's work is a singular and poetic anthropomorphic view at the "love activities" that go on every season in the relatively unknown world of plants. The "violet" chapter represents a delightful exposé of the self-fertilization process in violets, something we always talk about but cannot, perhaps visualize too well. Jean-Pierre Otte to the rescue!

             As always, many other Violet Gazette friends help us every quarter with suggestions, contacts and hard work. I am grateful to all of them but especially to Gary Sherwin, our webmaster. He's been quite a trooper and an invaluable, generous member of our team, responsible for putting forward new ideas and improve our website technology. Many, many thanks, Gary!

With best wishes to you all for a memorable summer!