Violet Leaf & Honey Syrup

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know how very much I LOVE using violets. Not only are the flowers so pretty to look at each spring, the entire plant is edible and is helpful in a variety of ways.

In my last post that referenced violets: Violet Leaf Balm, I mentioned the skin soothing and lymph moving qualities of this amazing plant that makes it helpful for skin irritations and mild cases of fibrocystic breast disease.

Today, I want to show you how to make an easy syrup that is useful for coughs & respiratory afflictions, and swollen lymph nodes.

a woman's hand holding a jar of violet leaf herbal honey syrup

Interestingly, violets have also been studied for their anti-cancer benefits, and seem to be especially effective against oral lesions.

(Of course, none of these statements are FDA approved and a home remedy that works for one person will not always work for another, so approach any herbal concoction such as this with an open mind and the caveat that it may or may not work for your situation.)

This is a very gentle syrup and ideal for children, however, please remember that the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend honey for children under twelve months old.


fresh honey comb and elder flowers

Related Article:

How to Make Honey Herbal Syrups (Has a “master formula” + several herb suggestions.)


One more note: violets have mild laxative properties. This may or may not be a welcome side-effect, depending on the symptoms of your cold.

This recipe comes from Making Plant Medicine which is a wonderful book that I have referenced a zillion times. I HIGHLY recommend this book if you want to make your own herbal remedies.

Some links on this site are affiliate links; I only recommend products I personally use and enjoy. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

violet leaves fresh and simmered

Violet Leaf & Honey Cough Syrup

  • fresh or dried Violet Leaves
  • water
  • honey (raw is preferable, raw & local is ideal)

The basic syrup formula is 1 part violet leaf decoction to 2 (or 3) parts honey.

straining violet leaf infusion and adding honey

To Make Violet Leaf & Honey Cough Syrup

Gather your violet leaves, or use dried, and place them in a jar.

New to collecting violets, check out my article on my family website, Unruly Gardening:

Foraging Violets: How to Identify, Harvest & Use!

If you don’t have violets growing locally, you can order organic leaves from Mountain Rose Herbs. (African Violets – the houseplant – are NOT true violets and should NOT be used as a substitute.)

Fill a jar or mug about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way with chopped violet leaves.

Pour cold water over the leaves, place in the refrigerator and let soak all night.

In the morning, gently heat this mixture for 15 to 20 minutes then turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let steep for another 30 minutes or so.

Strain the liquid from the leaves. You will have a green-tinged tea or decoction.

Measure out a small amount of the liquid. (Save the leftover violet leaf tea to pour in your bathwater. Also, there have been reports that violet leaf tea soaked cloths, held on the back of the neck, can help relieve headaches.)

For a small batch use about 1/4 cup of violet tea. For a large batch, use 1 cup violet tea.

Next, you’ll want to stir in twice as much honey, to create a 1:2 syrup. (Which means 1 part violet leaf tea to 2 parts honey.)

So if you have 1/4 cup of violet tea, use 1/2 cup of honey.

Over very low heat, gently stir the honey and violet decoction (tea) together until it is fully incorporated. At no time should this simmer or boil – you want to keep the heat under 110 degrees F so as not to destroy the benefits of raw honey.

Pour into a sterilized jar and cap tightly. Store in the refrigerator. Shelf life is a few months. Stirring in about 15% brandy (or an herbal tincture) will help preserve the mixture much longer.

Label your new creation so it won’t get mixed up with your other home remedies!

How to Use Violet Leaf & Honey Cough Syrup

Dosing is 1 to 2 teaspoons for children, 1 tablespoon for adults up to five times per day, as needed.

You can further mix this with tinctures upon dosing, if desired. For example, I often use a ginger tincture for my kids if they have a tummy ache. Instead of mixing with a spoonful of plain honey, as I often do, I can mix the tincture with a spoonful of this honey syrup as a kind of double punch in trying to knock the symptoms of illness out.

Nothing in this post or on this site is to be construed as medical advice. For questions or concerns about your health, please consult with a qualified health care professional.

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21 Comments

  1. Are you talking about pansies, like little johnny jump ups? Not big fat african violet leaves right?

    1. Hi Rhonda! :) I mean violets like those little wild purple flowers that people often consider weeds in their yard. Once it stops flowering, the leaves still hang around until frost usually.
      African Violets aren’t true violets and aren’t edible.
      Thanks for the great question!

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  3. Oh I can’t wait to try this! I was looking last year for a way to sooth my 2 year old’s cough without actual meds from a pharmacy. She had a light cold and a scratchy cough – nothing serious. But I couldn’t find anything to just sooth her throat. I’m pinning this for future reference :)

  4. This is great! I always try to go to a home remedy before turning to medicine. This looks like a good one to have on hand. :-)

  5. This should be an easy sell to my little ones when they’re feeling under the weather, thanks for sharing on The Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you can link up with us again next week (tomorrow!).

    Cheers,
    Kathy
    The Chicken Chick

    1. Hi Teresa! It’s really good for little kids who might not like the taste of other home remedies. (my mom’s onion juice mixture for my asthma, when I was a kid, comes to mind!) :)

    1. Hi Jenifer, yes you can use other types of herbs. This is just basically a simple herbal syrup made with honey! :)

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  8. need to try this remedy but no idea to get the violets from could you please help and thank you for sharing !!!

    1. Hi Joan! I have a clickable link to Mountain Rose Herbs above in the post – written right under the recipe:

      “Gather your violet leaves, or use dried, and place them in a jar. If you don’t have violets growing locally, you can order organic leaves from Mountain Rose Herbs.”

      The link clicks to:
      https://aspireiq.go2cloud.org/aff_c?offer_id=24&aff_id=1878

      Then you can scroll down to “V” then pick “Violet”.

      You might also be able to ask around friends & family & see if anyone has any growing around them (depending on where you live.) Even though the flowers are only around a short time in the spring, the leaves stay a long time and are great to harvest at any time.

      Hope that helps! :)

  9. Can this be frozen or actually canned so you have it for cold and flu season?

    1. Hi Susan, I haven’t tried either way, but you could always test it out and see! You could also dry your violet leaves while they’re out and just save them for winter, then you could make up a fresh batch to have on hand for flu season. In my area, violet leaves stay around until frost – so if that’s the case for you too, you could wait to pick and dry them to ensure optimal freshness later in the year.

  10. Can these herbal remedies be sold in get well gift baskets with slaves and tinctures? Does this fall within the guidelines of the insurance companies? Does it need/Will it take a small amount of preservative like those sold at some of the bulk herbal websites you’ve mentioned?

    1. Hi Erin! I’m not really sure about that – I know there are a lot of FDA regulations to follow when selling & you can’t make certain health claims. I only make these types of remedies for myself and immediate family; I’m afraid I’m just not sure what hoops you have to jump through to be able to sell to others. I wish I could help more!

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