I try to get people to believe me how tough pansies are. That’s right, pansies are tough. Every fall as I preach to plant pansies for BOTH fall and spring color I get the comment “I thought pansies were annuals?” Well they are considered annuals but they overwinter well and provide the bonus of both fall and spring color. I like to plant spring flowering bulbs like daffodils, fill in the hole and then plant pansies over the top.
The pansies are colorful during the fall season well into November and then the bulbs grow through the blooming pansies in spring. A “Pansy” describing someone who is weak was derived I believe from the general use of the word pansy for any flower. The plant was given a bum deal for it’s name because it’s one tough reliable dude in the landscape. So if anyone ever says to you, “you’re such a pansy” say thank you very “mulch”!
