Pansies!
Many gardeners lament that they love pansies but think they aren’t worth the cost or effort. They are great for early spring color in planters and window boxes but it seems just when they are at their finest, the summer annuals are available and ready for planting.
But pansies are not just for springtime anymore! With some careful planning, you can get 3 seasons of enjoyment from what most of us think of as merely a spring annual. Every March I plant my window boxes with pansies in a variety of colors. While I am partial to the Watercolors Mix, a paintbox of muted and bright tones, in recent years I have mixed in an extra flat dof Delta Orange, a sunny, golden orange and Matrix Blue with Blotch , a deep lavender with a striking purple and yellow center. From March through May we enjoy the burst of color they provide against the emerging spring landscape. .
In May, when tender annuals are safe to put outside, I carefully dig out the pansies and simply relocate them to their summer home. At my house, it’s an afternoon shade flower bed that cries out for color from something other than impatiens. With careful pinching back and fertilizing, my pansies bloom and provide gorgeous tones throughout the summer.
If that wasn’t enough to convince you of the versatility of pansies, in late summer, when the summer annuals are starting to peter out, I dig up the pansies and bring them back to their former spring home. The cool temperatures of are perfect for pansies! The Delta Orange and Matrix Blue are a wonderful compliment for fall crops and the vivid tones of autumn.
So if you are thinking that pansies are just a short term spring time investment, think again. With a little care, pansies can enhance the beauty of your home spring, summer and fall- and this year, they were even blooming all winter.
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