Pansies to paint the early spring garden

Pansies are important for early spring—especially if you need to paint the landscape with a mass of color. They thrive in the cooler temps, especially those unexpected cold snaps that come along during the season. Plus Blue Ribbon Pansies are affordable, and budget is a huge factor when planning garden designs.

Note the difference in color of ‘Beaconsfield’

We have a lovely Pansy for early spring, ‘Midnight Glow’. Notice how the purple petal edges bleed and mix, fading to blue as they approach the yellow center. Upper petals are darkest purple, just like the whiskers that add character to the faces.

It has the opposite effect of another purple Pansy—‘Beaconsfield’. While ‘Midnight Glow’ depicts light-on-dark, ‘Beaconsfield’ is dark-on-light. Upper petals on this selection are white, and the faces are all deep purple with just a small yellow eye in the center. Colors begin and end more distinctly, rather than flowing gently into one another the way they do on ‘Midnight Glow’.

Strong, sturdy stems hold up big blooms

Both of these pretty Pansies are large-flowered types because we like big blooms as much as you do. Strong, sturdy stems hold the flowers up above the foliage so they’re easily seen, especially from a distance. Height is the same for both but ‘Midnight Glow’ has slightly less of a spread than ‘Beaconsfield’: 6–8 inches as opposed to 8–12.

Which variety you go with depends on the look you’re trying to achieve. ‘Beaconsfield’ has more of a cool feel as opposed to the warmth radiating from ‘Midnight Glow’. Using the two together is also an option—the yellow eyes and faces play off of each other with the purple as a dramatic background.

Fragrant blooms to attract hummingbirds and bees

All of these blooms are fragrant and attract hummingbirds and bees. By the way—if you happen to find a bumblebee outside in the colder temps, leave it be, so to speak, but move it to a sheltered area of the garden. Bumblebees can tolerate a bit of cold and they need to remain outdoors to complete their life cycle.