It gives me a warm feeling to plant the ever-faithful pansy, as well as its smaller flowered kin commonly known as viola. These plants become the workhorses of the garden from the first frosts of October through the steam of May or June.
Pansies are great. They make me smile because they speak to me via their expressive “faces.” Depending on my mood, some pansies whisper a shade, others tote a soft blush and some strike with sharp colors. These cold-hardy beauties are available in luscious colors, from the purest angel white to neatly pure black and nearly every color in between except green.
Portraits of Monet’s garden touch every artistic and horticultural bone in my body. And, at times, pansies attract my visual senses like a variety of brush strokes set in garden rooms. I may decide that one room will be painted blue, that one orange and violet (yes, there are bi-color pansies and violas of orange and violet). I may even choose the purest black.
The problem I sometimes have with pansies is that they always look the same — beautiful, but unchallenging in shape, size, texture, and height.
To escape landscape boredom, simply add other plants that will add texture and dimension to the beds. And there are several ornamentals which fit the description. Winter veggies offer a variety of colors and shapes to the garden and can be intermingled with pansies.
One of my favorites is “Redbor” kale. The foliage is all ruffles and frills, but is distinguished by its solid burgundy color and has proven to be cold hardy. Imagine the foliage up close and personal to purple and white pansies.
“Dinosaur” kale is unique. It is noted for its blue-gray rough textured leaves. The proper name is “Lacinato” though it is also known as Italian black kale. This plant’s long and strap-shaped leaves are a nice contrast to pansies.
Another plant I find interesting is the “Red Giant” mustard with large lustrous burgundy leaves. At quick glance, I took a type of Chinese mustard green, “Mizuna” for curly parsley. “Tatsoi” is a small Chinese cabbage with snow-white stems of bok choy and little round, spinach green leaves. This plant grows as a 12-inch rosette flat on the ground.
Don’t miss out on the bright yellow color of Swiss chard, planted next to orange and yellow pansies. Even the lowly collard and cabbage have a place in winter gardens. And certainly, one of the most ornamental of all vegetables is the cardoon, “Cynara cardunculus,” the wild parent of the globe artichoke. The silvery gray leaves are amazing.
I plan to start these ornamentals from seed next year. They’re best to start in pots so they’re ready to plant once fall arrives. Cardoons can be started at this time but bigger plants will be produced if started earlier. Check the local nurseries that grow pansies and ask for cardoons. Cardoons are grown as an edible for its leaf stalks much like celery is. The word is still out as to the culinary potential of this plant.
For the fun of it I’m going to try a solely vegetable planting of various leaf shapes and colors. Who knows, I may not even miss the pansies. At the very least they can become friends with the arrival of new neighbors. Plants serve us well. They perform. They grow. They reproduce. They flower. Not because we purchase them, but because they are plants.
Who knows — next year I might cook a pot of Geraniums mixed with dandelions and call it ”Gerdandy” stew.
Happy holidays. Remember to love your plants.
Anita Stone is a master gardener from Seven Lakes.
