Canada Violet is a graceful woodland perennial with dainty white flowers, often tinged with purple on the backs of the petals, blooming from spring into early summer. On warm, still days, the blooms carry a light, sweet fragrance. Heart-shaped green leaves form a lush backdrop, while creeping rhizomes help it spread naturally through moist, shaded plantings and along woodland edges. An excellent early-to-mid-season nectar source for native bees, and small butterflies, it also serves as a larval host plant for several fritillary butterfly species, providing critical food for developing caterpillars.

Hardy and adaptable, Canada Violet is best suited for shaded wildflower gardens, woodland edges, naturalized forest plantings, and moist meadows. Its height and spreading nature make it an excellent understory plant in native gardens or shady areas where it can naturalize. Moderately deer resistant, young spring growth may be browsed, but established plants are persistent and recover well due to their spreading habit.