Pansies

~ By Kythera Ann ~

The second plant I'd like to discuss in "Plants That Attract Us" are pansies.

I love pansies; there is something about them that always makes me smile. Their multi colored faces gaze up at me as I wander through my garden from early spring to late fall. They continue throughout nine months of the year to give me joy and happiness with out asking for much more than some water when it gets very hot.

Pansies have always been around really. They started out as wild flowers and are part of the viola family. Johnny Jump-ups, fore runners of the modern pansy were happily growing in fields and hedgerows, and thought of as "weeds" throughout Europe long before gardeners got a hold of them.

In the early 1800s British gardeners, most notably William Thompson started to cross breed various types of violas...the purple Johnny jump up with a Russian yellow variant for instance. Finally about 1830 a chance "sport" was created...one looking similar to the modern pansy (first called "Medora") with a face and multiple colors. The "sport" became an instant hit with gardeners around the world; many of them continuing to develop more variations of "faces" within the cross breeding efforts.

The common name for these cultivars and hybrids today is "pansy." The name comes from the French word pensée meaning "thought", this is because the flower resembles a face and it has been observed that in late summer the flower nods forward as if "deep in thought."

         

All ideas, concepts, and content including text, content and graphics are owned by
The Garden of Friendship and its members unless otherwise noted and should not be
taken or duplicated without expressed written consent. © 2000 and beyond.
The Garden of Friendship