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Loosely, it's 1 part each violet flowers, sugar, and water. My version came out a little more water-y than syrup, so I'd probably try a little more sugar next time. Lemon juice is also good to have on hand -- just make sure it's fresh squeezed or pure lemon juice. These are fine:

Note when I say violets: there are lots of species of violets that grow in the wild, some in different colors, most of them are edible. Do not try this with potted plants (ie African violets). Also,

do not forage anything you cannot identify with 100% accuracy.

That said -- I'm not a professional & please don't die; make sure you are picking somewhere not treated by pesticides and such; make sure you are not picking on land where wildflowers are protected; follow basic foraging decency and don't pick more than you need, and leave enough behind for the wildlife; be kind to the land and don't butcher the scenery to get what you're hunting.

The Process

1. Harvesting. I picked about 2-3 loose cups of flowers as close to the bud as possible. Stems will alter the flavor and color of the syrup, so you won't want them anyway.

2. Separate the petals from the stem and the calyx (the little green dude where the petals meet). This is tedious, but for best results you really only want the petals. I was left with a little more than a cup of petals. Most of the ones on our farm are white, but they pretty much taste the same.

3. Put the petals into a non-plastic, heatproof, non-reactive container, such as a glass canning jar or a stainless steel bowl. Discard or compost the green bits.

4. Bring the water to a boil, and pour directly over the petals.

5. Cover and let sit for 24 hours. Ooh and aah over the color of the water.

5A. If the color leaves something to be desired, add lemon juice, a few drops at a time, and stir. If you have hard water, you'll probably need to do this step. (There's a whole subset of fun science projects to learn about pH in here, but I've been out of school for like 15 years so you'll have to google that one.)

6. The site suggests a bain-marie or double boiler; i used a stainless steel bowl over a few inches of water. Whatever you've got, put the petal-water mixture in the top, and add the sugar.

7. Turn on the heat, and as the steam cooks from below, stir slowly until all of the sugar is dissolved.

8. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve; discard or compost the petals. If the color needs tweaking, try a few more drops of lemon juice.

9. Tada! You have syrup. Let it cool to room temp, put it in a pretty glass jar, and store in the fridge.

I added mine to lemonade:

It adds a nice, subtle floral flavor, and of course the color! I plan to play around with it a little more next spring when the violets are back in season -- I regularly use lavender for baking, and could easily sub violets instead.