On your walk

Lacing woodland edges and hedgerows with their delicious scent until). Almost identical in appearance-five oval petals with a blue-violet hue or, sometimes, lilac or white, accompanied by deep-green, heart-shaped leaves at the base of the stem-this aroma is the distinguishing factor. Representing constancy and long-used in herbal remedies and perfumes, these edible flowers are becoming less common-perhaps thanks to their popularity with foragers-which is bad news for woodland butterflies. At his death, pressed sweet violets were found in the locket round Napoleon's neck.