Growing Pansies in Your Garden

Looking for a flower that is easy to grow, that can withstand a light, late frost and has a multitude of colors to choose from, including black? Pansies are just the flower. But pansies have more than color going for them.

Pansies are Annuals, plants that only take one growing season to finish their life cycle. In addition, pansies flower early in the year, making them a favorite among those gardeners who just can't wait to see an abundance of color spread out across their lawn. So whether you like to mix-and-match colors and types of pansies, or you prefer solid-colored pansies of one type, all congregated in one location, this flower gives you the ability to see the reward of your planting efforts long before other flowers will bloom, making your home and lawn a favorite "drive by" place in the neighborhood until competing neighbors' blooms begin to spring forth.

Pansies are Edible

But did you know that pansies serve a practical purpose; that they are an edible flower? And it isn't just their flower part that's edible, their leaves are edible too. In fact, they are both a good source of both Vitamin A and Vitamin C, which explains why squirrels seemed to attack mine one year when nuts were a little scarce.

So there is no need to worry about putting pots of pansies in your home in the event you have a toddler who likes to nibble on things when you aren't looking. Pansies will be safe for the little tyke. And you might want to take a bite yourself, since pansies can also be used in making salads, honey, and syrup, due to the strength of its flavor. But even more surprising, did you know that pansies are sometimes used as dye, their color so vibrant that it lends itself to such usage?

Pansies have three color schemes

And speaking of color, pansies can generally be divided into three color schemes: they can be a single color on each of the five petals of this flower, making it one big eye-catching splash of a particular color; or - in addition to the single color throughout the flower as just mentioned - they can also have black lines extending from the solid-colored flower's center (known as penciling), giving them a slight design not present in regular solid-colored pansies, lastly - and probably the most familiar to gardeners - they can have a dark center, giving them what some refer to as a "face."

You will not have to worry about dealing with pests or diseases if you plant pansies, as they generally don't have either, making them even more of an asset to the busy gardener. After all, who wants to battle bugs when you can sit in your garden and just visually drink in floral beauty and smell a pleasant aroma from the pansies planted nearby?

References:

How to Grow Pansy or Pansies: http://www.gardenersnet.com/flower/pansy.htm

Pansy: http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/growingflowers/flowersandseasons/pansy

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