From the Garden

©Annette Bartlett-Golden, Sitting Pretty. Watercolor, 9 x 12 inches. $225

Thinking of Pansies
By guest author Avery Bartlett-Golden

Pansies or more specifically Viola × wittrockiana have brightened the winter landscape for many generations and are a testament to our long fascination with the Violet family. Progeny of extensive cultivation and crossing of many species of violas most notably Viola tricolor, V. lutea, V. altaica and V. cornuta, modern pansies show the best characteristic of western violas. The name pansy is believed to come from the middle French penséem meaning thought, from the appearance of the flower looking like a pensive face.
 
Given this deep fascination it is no surprise that the pansy is an automatic first choice for winter color. Blooming from late fall to mid spring they fill one of the most challenging gaps for color in a garden. Preferring organic rich soil, and shade from the sun as spring warms up pansies will be quite content to endure for many months. Dead heading will prolong and increase blooming, and leggy plants can be pinched back to encourage more vigorous growth.
 
Good companion plants are generally ornamental brassicaceaes like Kale, mustard, some Asian greens like Pak Choi, and Swiss chard. Another companion is snapdragons. One other less common use for pansies is as an ingredient in salads giving a slight wintergreen flavor when the sepals are included. For culinary use, it is recommended to use organic or seed grown plants to avoid chemical contamination.

Avery Bartlett-Golden is a Horticulture Science major at North Carolina State University. 

Pansies and ornamental kale pair well together for an attractive potted arrangement.