They are violets Bathgate. in Britain they are a woodland native. depending on the species some may be scented and others scentless.

the seed capsule explodes throwing hundreds of seeds 1-2 m away from the parent plant.

Wow, exploding seed capsules? That explains a lot. Thanks. Do you know if they are edible?

yes the flowers are. they are often 'sugared' and used as decorations on cakes and salads like primrose flowers.
just out of curiosity what time is it in your part of the USA. its only 10 mins since you replied to my response it is 4.45 pm here in the UK.

Right now, here in New York, Eastern Standard Time, it's exactly 12:35 pm afternoon, Wednesday. I'm just about to break for lunch.

so we are about 5 hrs ahead of you. I wondered about that. Time zones drive my nuts ;o)
hope you have a nice lunch I've just had my evening meal.

Thanks, yes 5 hours sounds about right. I remember that's how long my flight was from jfk to heathrow. Right now it's Thursday for you. I'm still on Wednesday. Whenever i"m in Manhattan, times just seems to fly.

There is a white version too Bathgate. They are easy to weed out if they land somewhere you do not want them.

I haven't seen the white one yet, but would look nice together with the purple.