Pansies are another garden staple flower that don’t get their due because we all just take them for granted. Normally considered an annual, they provide multiple years of color in my Seattle garden in patio pots. Their strong seasons are spring and fall–they flag in hot weather and in winter they prepare to bloom and sometimes jump the gun a bit, throwing out flowers before a snow or hard freeze resulting in ruined blooms. This doesn’t slow them down much–they keep throwing flowers up until they get the timing right.

Future plans for these plants are to grow a few from seed each year to pop into pots where needed.