Plant Overview
Our British native wildflower pansy which typically grows on verges, waste ground and alongside hedges. As can be seen from the number of common names below, this has been a long-loved flower in the UK.
Dainty, small-headed pansies in shades of purple, violet, cream and yellow or combination of all three, appear in profusion for a long period throughout the summer. The flowers can be used to garnish puddings or added to salads. They also make very pretty addition to posies. If the flowers are left on the plant they will self-seed freely, otherwise pick them regularly to encourage more to form.
Viola tricolor is the parent of many of our cultivated pansy cultivars and is perfect for those wanting to try breeding violas. Each flower can produce up to 50 seeds.
Grow in containers or pretty much anywhere in the garden.
Height and Spread: 20cm x 35cm.
Common names: Black eye; Cat's faces; See less; Come-and-cuddle-me; Constancy; Cuddle-me-to-you; Cull-me-to-you; Cupid's flower; Fancy; Flamy; Flower of thought; Garden gate; Hearts in ease; Herb trinity; Jack-jump-up-and-kiss-me; Johnny-jump-up; Jump-up-and-kiss-me; Kiss-and-look-up; Kiss-her-in-the-buttery; Kiss-me; Kiss-me-at-the-garden-gate; Kiss-me-ere-i-rise; Kiss-me-love; Kit-run-about; Kitty-come; Kitty-run; Lady's delight; Little faces; Live-in-idleness; Love-in-idleness; Loving idol; Lowly down; Meet-her-in-the-entry-kiss-her-in-the-buttery; Pansy; Pink of my Joan; Pink of my john; Pretty face; Stepmother plant; Thinking flower; Three faces under a hood; Tickle-my-fancy; Tricolor pansy; Wild pansy.
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Tom.k assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
