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| Photo Credit: Megan Bame |
| Pansy flowers (left) are three to four times larger than viola blooms (right), but violas produce more flowers. |
When I interned in Chicago one summer, I was shocked that people were planting their flower beds with pansies…in May! In my home state of North Carolina, we’d already ripped out our pansies to make way for the likes of petunias and other heat lovers. It was a quick lesson in gardening: Different plants have different uses in different regions.
In many areas of the country – wherever winters are mild – pansies are revered as a hard-working winter annual. It’s the traditional fall replacement for whatever variety of summer annuals you previously enjoyed. Not only will pansies – and their close cousin, violas – flower throughout the season in mildly cold temperatures, these lovelies will even withstand a blanket of snow! You’re probably a bit more familiar with pansies than violas, though both flowers are members of the genus Viola. Pansies have flowers that are three to four times larger than violas, so they’ve got a bit bigger impact. But violas have a lot going for them, too – they produce three to four times more flowers than pansies. Whichever you choose – or if you choose a combination of both – you’re sure to get a big bang of color in your fall flower beds. Some pansies have a “face,” or a dark blotch in the center of the flower, while others are “clear,” or a solid color. To differentiate a bit further, some pansies have “whiskers” – dark lines radiating from the center that aren’t as pronounced as a blotch, but the petals aren’t clear either. Though yellow and purple are traditional favorites, folks looking for a more unique selection can now choose from pastels, true blues, and even an orange and black pansy color combination known as Trick-or-Treat Mix.
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