Bring the water to a boil. Remove from the heat and toss all but a handful of the violet flowers into it.
Add several dashes of fresh lemon juice.
Cover the bowl and allow the violets to infuse for a minimum of 2 hours. Longer is better.
Quickly mix the infused mixture with a handheld mixer.
Add the sugar to the mix. Cover it for at least an hour. During this time, stir it once or twice so that the sugar isn't sinking to the bottom.
Heat the mixture over low heat gently until the sugar completely dissolves.
Remove from the heat and drain the flowers.
Add the remaining handful of lightly chopped violet flowers to the cooled down mixture. Mix through.
Add the mixture to an ice cream or sorbet maker. Make the sorbet according to the machine's instructions.
Serve the sorbet. It goes well with violet sugar and crystallized violets sprinkled over the top of each serve.