garden violet

3.5

A small plant with purple or white flowers that grows in gardens

noun
/ˈɡɑrdən ˈvaɪəlɪt/

: violeta de jardín

The garden violet adds vibrant color to early spring borders.

Examples

Many gardeners favor the garden violet for its delicate, fragrant blooms.
She picked a bouquet of garden violets from the edge of the lawn.
The garden violet bloomed beautifully this spring.
Have you seen the garden violets in her backyard?
Many gardeners favor the garden violet for its delicate, fragrant blooms.
The garden violet adds vibrant color to early spring borders.
She picked a bouquet of garden violets from the edge of the lawn.

Synonyms

sweet violet

vsgarden violet

5.8

A small plant with purple or white flowers that smell sweet

is the common cultivated form that naturalizes easily rather than listing species traits

English violet

vsgarden violet

4.4

A small garden flower with purple or white petals and a sweet smell

is the broader informal label used in cultivation rather than the strict species name

Viola odorata

vsgarden violet

Specialized

9.5

A small violet with purple or white sweet smelling flowers often grown in gardens

is the locally naturalized European form rather than the wider native range

Surface Forms

garden violet singular

garden violets plural

Morphology

garden + violet

The meaning 'a violet that grows in or is cultivated in gardens' is directly and predictably derived from combining 'garden' (outdoor plot for cultivating plants) with 'violet' (a small perennial plant). This is a straightforward compositional noun phrase following common cross-linguistic compounding patterns and contains no idiomatic or metaphorical shift, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily understand it.

Etymology

Garden violet is the simple name made from garden and violet for the small purple flower people plant or let grow near their lawns. That's why it means 'a violet commonly found in gardens'.