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Freeport Gardening Guide: Pansies and Violas

This is a how to guide to help anyone get started in gardening.

Pansies and Violas

Viola Seeds, Antique Laeta:

Description: These dainty, dime-sized blooms are adorable. The petals are colored like fresh-churned spring butter with a dollop of jammy plum at each center. Plants average 3- to 6- inches tall. These one-of-a-kind dwarf violas look super sweet peeking out of tiny pots, tucked into the fairy garden, or planted in borders and beds or window boxes. The blooms are edible, topping baked goods with a perfect touch of elegance.

Antique Laeta Viola blooms blooming in garden.

 

Viola Seeds, Arkwright Ruby:

Description: A luxurious, antique variety with 1-to 2- inch blooms that are a dazzling ruby color with gilded gold eyes and edges. The crimson and gold tones make for a classic addition to beds, borders, containers, and window boxes. This regal variety predates the 1940s.

Arkwright Ruby Violas on a white background.

 

Viola Seeds, Berna Velvet Blue Pansy:

Description: Plant a bed of luxuriant and lavish crushed velvet blooms! These flowers are edible and really add a touch of regal beauty to your culinary creations. A cool weather-loving flower that flourishes in shade. Try them in planters, pots, beds, and borders.

Berna Velvet Blue Pansy in clear vase on light countertop.

 

Viola Seeds, Bertrand's Purple Eclipse:

Description: (Viola x wittrockiana). The incredible deep purple blooms with bright white edging make this variety really stand out in the garden. Medium-sized flowers are produced in abundance on compact plants. Perfect for salads, garnishes and makes a lovely tea.

A close-up macro view of single bloom of a Bertrand's Purple Eclipse Viola on white background.

 

Viola Seeds, Black Devil Pansy:

Description: Perhaps the boldest black flower in the garden, with blooms the color of India ink and a diminutive yellow eye. The design possibilities are endless with this variety, from container mixes to en masse planting in beds and borders. The compact, floriferous plants reach 6 inches tall and look fantastic planted chockablock for a dramatic effect! Don’t forget: these flowers are also edible!

Close-up macro of several Black Devil Pansies on white background.

 

Viola Seeds, Blue Perfection:

Description: Perennial in zones 5-9 or grow as an annual. It really lives up to its name, with large blooms in a mesmerizing shade of blue! Plants reach 6- inch tall and can be tucked into pots, window boxes, beds, and borders. The beautiful blue blooms are edible.

Blue Perfection Violas growing in the trial gardens at Baker Creek.

 

Viola Seeds, Bowles Black:

Description: A charming antique black pansy popularized by E.A. Bowles, a prominent horticulturist of the late 19th and early 20th century. Bowles wrote of this deep purple to inky black pansy in his book My Garden in Spring, where he described it as “... a very charming little weed, sowing itself freely, and when in full bloom it has a wonderfully friendly and cheerful look in the yellow Cyclopean eye in the middle of its almost black face.” He noted that a friend, Dr. Lowe (a member of the Royal Horticultural Society), had given him seeds for the lovely pansy and after growing it on display at his gardens, visitors began to call the variety “Bowles Black.” Plants stand 6 inches tall and are great for beds, borders, pots, and baskets, or grow them as Bowles did… in the rock garden.

Viola Seeds, Bowles Black

 

Viola Seeds, Brush Strokes:

Description: Annual. A stunning re-selection of the striped pansies and violas of yesteryear, these vibrant beauties have disappeared, so we are excited to bring back this color scheme to the garden again. So appropriately named, the petals have the look of a painting, each bloom with its own unique markings. This pansy loves cool weather,  and the flowers are edible and delicious, perfect for salads, desserts, garnishes, and more! The blooms are striking and will make a statement in pots, borders, and beds.

A close up picture of Brush Strokes Pansy; showing the intense purple streaks of color against the cream yellow viola petals.

 

Viola Seeds, Bunny Ears:

Description: A darling little cottage flower that is so hard to find! Bunny Ears viola reaches just 8 inches high and wide and might just be the most adorable flower we have ever seen! The blooms are sweetheart pink with two prominent petals, giving the flowers a bunny ears appearance, and the blooms are sweetly scented. Your fairy gardens, containers, beds and borders will sing with cheer wherever Bunny Ears viola grows! A cool weather-loving, shade-tolerant bloom, ideal for landscaping.

Bunny Ears Viola growing in garden.

 

Viola Seeds, Celestial Blue Pansy:

Description: A sky-blue pansy representing one of the rarest and most sought-after colors in the plant kingdom! These cool blue blooms are just the trick for pots, borders, and beds. They’re glorious planted in blocks of color or as an accent with other hues! Add this tranquil blue edible flower to your dishes for a gorgeous culinary presentation. Delicious in salads and spring rolls.

A floral arrangement of Celestial Blue Pansy flowers in a glass vase on a white background.

 

Viola Seeds, Chicky Chicks:

Description: Perennial (USDA zones 6-9) also grown as an annual. A complete rainbow of vibrant, sunny faces. This happy medley of colors is perfect for containers, beds, and borders, and is also suitable for hanging baskets. 6 inches tall and 10 inches wide.

Chicky Chicks Viola blooms surrounding a bloom encased lollipop.

 

Viola Seeds, Envy Pansy:

Description: This artsy pansy blends dusky tones of olive green with splashes of coffee, yellow, and tortoise, giving the blooms an avant-garde edge. These are certainly not your grandmother’s pansies! These tidy 10-inch-tall plants will sparkle in beds, borders, and in salads!

Detailed close-up of Envy Pansy blooms on a blue green background.

 

Viola Seeds, Floral Days Morning Dew:

Description: A dainty and delightful pansy with starkly contrasted, bicolored petals of lemon yellow and plum purple. These cold-hardy plants reach just 8 inches in height, making them an ideal choice for containers, hanging baskets, beds, borders, and more.

Side view of edible Floral Days Morning Dew Viola blooms decorating cupcakes.

 

Viola Seeds, Historic Florist Mix Pansy:

Description: A throwback to the smaller antique pansies, with a lovely mix of shades from plum to to bronze with canary yellow centers. Tuck these tidy 8-inch tall beauties into beds, borders, containers and cottage gardens and don’t forget that the blooms are also edible!

Containers filled with Historic Florist Mix Pansy flowers and an old pair of garden scissors.

 

Viola Seeds, Laeta Fire:

Description: These dainty, dime-sized blooms are so cute! The canary-yellow petals of this most cheerful little pansy are dip dyed in magenta! Plants average 3- to 4 -inches tall by 4- to 6- inches wide. These one-of-a-kind dwarf violas look super sweet peeking out of tiny pots, tucked into the fairy garden, or planted in borders and beds, or window boxes. The blooms are edible and will top baked goods with a perfect touch of sunshine.

Laeta Fire Violas on white plate against white background.

 

Viola Seeds, Lake of Thun Pansy:

Description: This great pansy, which is also known as Ullswater, is the loveliest of all deep blues, being named for the sparkling blue waters of the Alpine Lake Thun of Switzerland.   This heirloom is perfect for bouquets and delicious in syrups and jellies! Plant a bed of pure blue beauty this year!

Picture of Lake of Thun Pansys spilling out of bowl. Gray background

 

Viola Seeds, Miniola Heart Aqua:

Description: Perennial zones 3-9, or grow as an annual. A charming and diminutive viola with fabulous, heart-shaped blooms in an unusual color combination of mustard green and aqua blue! This striking viola stands just 6 inches tall and blooms just 6 to 8 weeks from sowing, making it ideal for containers, beds, borders and planting en masse. Don’t forget -- these beautiful blooms are edible!

A bunch of Miniola Heart Aqua Violas scattered on bright blue background.

 

Viola Seeds, Super Beaconsfield Pansy:

Description: Wildly illuminating purple and white petals make this Swiss giant type pansy glow in the garden! The tidy 8- to 10- inch tall plants are covered in massive, 3-inch flower heads. A superb selection for beds, borders, and containers. Gorgeous, edible blooms. A classic pansy of yesteryear.

Close-up Super Beaconsfield Pansies from garden.

 

Viola Seeds, Sweeties:

Description: Dainty bicolored blooms perch atop super dwarf plants that grow just 4 inches tall and 6 inches wide. These cuties are excellent for containers, hanging baskets, beds, and borders. Their cottage garden charm is perfect for the garden, and the edible flowers look darling on the plate!

Sweetie Violas growing in garden.

 

Viola Seeds, Tiger Laeta:

Description: A gleaming golden viola that adds a ray of sunshine to designs. Plants are smothered with golden blooms, and the petals have purple veining, making a gorgeous tiger stripe. This viola is ideal for container planting, especially when grown alongside tulips! Also perfect for beds, borders, and window boxes. Try topping your culinary creations with these regal blooms.

Detailed close-up of Tiger Laeta Viola blooms.

 

Viola Seeds, Trumpets Mix Pansy:

Description: Enjoy a rainbow of HUGE flowers! A charming mix of bold tones from blue to plum, gold and tangerine, even including a splash of bicolored petals. This glorious potpourri of gem tones will enliven your beds, borders, flower pots, and even the dinner plate, as the petals are edible! Tidy and compact plants reach just 8-10 inches tall, making them a perfect choice for window boxes!

Close-up detail of Trumpets Mix Pansy blooms on a light background.

 

Viola Seeds, Wine Laeta:

Description: This is a gorgeous viola with blooms the color of wine and plum, with a small yellow eye. This versatile cool-weather flower is very well suited to beds and borders, as well as container plantings like window boxes and pots on the front porch. This edible flower makes a delightful decoration for your most eye-catching recipes.

Photo of closeup of Laeta Wine Pansies on vine growing in garden.