~Pansy Party~

Here’s a little backstory for you. Pansy Party was a term coined a few years ago in the fields of East Tennessee during early September. When Stanley’s gets in 400,000 (give or take) pansy plugs and we have to transplant them, tag them, move them, water them, etc. It is a rite of passage at the greenhouse. It is hot, sweaty, exhausting, and a total blast. You are either going to get dirt in your eyes/nose/ears or you are going to get a fabulous leg workout, either way, it can either be fun or not so much. So, we choose to make it fun and joke/dance our way through. If the music is good that makes all the difference! Honestly, the people you are surrounded by make all the difference and we have some good ones. Anway, here’s my ode to the pansy.

One of my first jobs at the greenhouse growing up was deadheading pansies. My mom would stack the flats up high enough for me to reach and I’d sit there and pluck the old seed pods off. I’m not sure what I thought then, but now it is therapeutic to me. Pansies in general are therapeutic to me. They represent light in the darkness and color in the void. On the dark days of winter, it is so helpful to pull into my driveway and see their adorable faces looking back at me. I know it may sound cheesy, but it really does brighten my day and I’m sure it would brighten yours too. Pansies have a distinct “face” look to them that makes them more relatable than other plants. My dad used to joke growing up that he was going to get a giant yellow blotch pansy tattoo over his face. Ok, sure Dad.

Why pansies? They are the only consistent color you are going to have during the winter. Period. I was listening to the news the other morning and they were discussing Seasonal Defective Disorder, essentially what happens to us in the winter when we are plunged into darkness. You can try artificial light lamps, saunas, exercise, but do not discount the power of the pansy! Adding some color to our grey world during the winter is extremely helpful — and not just for you. Your neighbors will thank you too!

Surprising to some, there is quite a lot of variety in the pansy world. Everyone has their favorites that they gravitate to year after year. Or sometimes one variety is the hype of the season. Penny Lane Mix Viola was always a favorite of mine, along with the Delft Blue Violas. If you are a blue person, the Matrix Ocean and Ocean Breeze mix are stunning. If you are middle of the road, you can’t go wrong with panolas, which is what I did this year. I planted red and yellow panolas with a bit of white waves for the edges. Wave pansies are trailing pansies named after the wave petunias so people would understand the trailing habit. They are ideal for the edge of beds, hanging baskets, or trailers in containers. Another favorite is the colormax pansies. Bred to mound and clump, these pansies create a nice mound of color in the bed without having to plant too many. The Berry Pie is probably my favorite of that series, for obvious reasons! No matter the variety, you can’t go wrong. As a general rule though, Violas can handle more shade. Whereas true Pansies need full sun.

Pansies are a family. There’s the large face pansy, the medium faced Panola (cross between pansy and viola), and the smallest face viola (which is the parent to all). Often people want the largest, understandably, however, the viola blooms much more than the pansy. It may have smaller blooms but you often end up getting more color out of it, because there’s almost always a bloom on it. I feel like there’s a metaphor in there somewhere.. Don’t just judge a plant by its size? Looks can be deceiving? I’m getting philosophical. Anyway, this is just some food for thought on a dreary day while I’m home sick staring out my window at the grey sky and my cute little red and yellow panolas. Sometimes, it really is the little things that make the biggest difference.