The Rural Voice, 2004-09, Page 50i
1
Rhea
Hamilton -
Seeger and
her husband
live near
Auburn. She
is a skilled
cook and
gardener.
By Rhea Hamilton -Seeger
I have been enjoying their smiling
faces all summer; sunny yellow and
velvety purple, always turned to
welcome me as I walk down to the
house. When I talk about my
profusion of pansies at the back door,
fellow gardeners scoff and relate
stories of pansies and violas that
wimp out long before the middle of
summer.
Early this spring 1 filled five large
planters along the north side of the
house. I had anticipated replanting
later when the heat forced them to
grow leggy and into dormancy. But
between our cool summer and weekly
deadheading plus a regular weak dose
of fertilizer, the magic of the pansy
continues here.
Violas are the quintessential
nineteenth century bedding plant and
have been loved for centuries.
Violets, pansies and violas are all
from the same family. They have five
petals, two that stand up, one at each
side and a wider one at the bottom.
This wide one stretches its base
back into a hidden honey well and is
marked with little road signs showing
the bees where to find the entrance.
Sometimes the side petals also wear
those guidelines and the pistil always
has an orange collar.
Pansies and violas are technically
short lived perennials but they are
considered annuals since they bloom
from seed the first year and decline in
quality each year afterwards. The
classic pansies, violas and violettas
are hybrids that appeared in London,
England around 1820.
Crossed with their American
cousins, growers have produced a
lovely selection of hardy jewels. We
love the almost human faces created
with the overlapping pattern of the
46 THE RURAL VOICE
Gardening
Perfect for pansies
petals and have given them such
names as Heart's Ease, Little
Grandmothers, Johnny -jump-up, and
Lady's Delight.
They like to bloom when the
weather is cool and are a great choice
to plant with spring bulbs. They
provide a lovely contrast with the soft
early spring colours and will provide
cover for the smaller bulbs' dying
foliage later in the season. Pansy
seeds do best when planted in late
summer. The strong young plants will
have set their flower buds by
November and at the first breath of
spring will burst into bloom. Mulch
them through the winter
with something airy or
branches, for their
green leaves must
not be smothered,
or consider planting
them in a cold
frame. The richer
and moister the
soil, the larger the
blossoms will
be. While some will
winter over, you should
plant seed each year to
ensure a supply of blooms every
spring.
If you are up to the challenge you
can start the seeds indoors in
midwinter to transplant out in
midspring. Germination begins with
moistening and chilling the seed
(between 40 and 45 F) for one week
prior to planting. Space plants about
four inches apart. The key to
extending their flowering season is
removing faded blooms, and keeping
the plants well watered.
The popular little Johnny -jump-up
spreads with wild abandon around
our garden. I must admit that it does
get out of hand and needs a bit of
pulling before it sets out seed. It is a
European native and has settled quite
well in North America. Its one -inch,
fragrant blooms are edible and often
used as a garnish. The rich colours of
the pansy have captivated me and I
have used them to decorate cakes for
special occasions in the spring when
they are at their peak. Colours
include deep violet, blue, lavender,
mauve, yellow, cream, white and bi-
colours. The larger pansies often have
three tones of purple, blue, dark red,
rose, pink, brown, yellow, or white.
As quickly as catalogues are
published new hybrids are developed.
The popular varieties of even five
years ago have been replaced by
Black Princess, Helen Mount, Penny
Orchid Frost, Skippy Blue Cream,
and Sorbet French Vanilla (all
offered by Vesseys).
Don't miss the Icicle pansies that
bloom longer in the fall and start up
again early in the spring. You can't
miss them in the fall — I think every
retailer gets a load in. Well marketed,
they do indeed bloom well and a
friend in Goderich was amazed
with the results he had this past
spring with them. Plenty of
bloom and early too.
So what problems could
arise? Leggy plants and fewer
blooms indicate either too much
shade, temperatures too hot or
spent flowers have not been
removed. Plant pansies in
afternoon shade, keep soil moist and
spread a 3 -inch layer of mulch to
keep the soil moist and cool. Remove
spent flowers and fertilize weekly
with a balanced formula of 12-12-12
at half-strength. If your blooms are
ragged and chewed with silver gray
slime on the plant or on the soil
nearby you should be on the look -out
for slugs and snails. You can
handpick the ones you see. Hunt
them just after dark, beginning an
hour after sundown, using a
flashlight. Keep the garden debris
cleaned up where they like to hide.
Try setting out beer traps.
Pansies may be hit with a fungus
called anthracnose that develops in
humid weather. It shows up as
circular dead spots with black
margins.
Petals are spotted and not fully
developed. The plant is weakened
and may die. The best solution is to
remove the whole plant and plant
debris from the garden.
With such a happy face, pansies
should be smiling in many gardens
throughout the year.0