p style=”text-align: left;”> One of my all time favourite flowers (both annual and perennial) is the common pansy which in fact is in the viola family (botanical name viola tricolour). These hardy little plants easily cheer up shady areas in the garden or look great in containers amongst other early blooming bulbs and flowers. Pansies produce a wide range of colourful flowers and have a long blooming period. Another bonus is that they easily self seed.

If you want to be more adventurous and you live in a milder area, you can grow the plants from seed in July or early August and once the seedlings are established you can overwinter them in a greenhouse or cold frame and plant them out the following March. They are however easily available to buy through your local nursery and are very reasonable. Violas and violets have smaller, delicate purple flowers and are definitely more suitable in rock gardens or small containers. They can however look good on mass in a shady spot. I forgot to mention that they do have a pleasant fragrance too.

Violets and Violas

Each year I have fun making up springtime containers. We usually have a lot of company for Easter dinner so they can be used to decorate the Easter dinner table and/or be given to your guests as gifts. A selection of pansies look good in a basket or even a single stem pansy or viola as displayed in the containers below. I think the Beatrix Potter cup and saucer goes well with the Easter theme surrounded by a few mini eggs which certainly will not last long in our household.