Dear Helen: I have noted the enthusiasm with which you write about pansies and violas. Do you grow them all from seed or do you buy transplants? If you grow from seed, how difficult are they to grow well and when do you make seedlings? Do you have favourite varieties?
E.F.
I grow most pansy and viola transplants from seed, but can never resist the late summer and early spring displays of these plants at garden centres. I usually buy a few transplants to add to my own.
I seed indoors in late winter, usually in February, and again around mid-July for transplants to bloom during the autumn and much of the winter before they burst into full flowering in early spring.
In my experience, pansies and violas are among the easiest transplants to grow from seed, though they do not germinate quickly. Most take 10 to 14 days, with the odd exception. This year, a new pansy I was trying germinated in a week.
The seeds germinate best in dark conditions. I place several sheets of newspaper over the loose plastic covering on the seeded flats.
Pansy and viola transplants do not stretch out; they remain in neat rosettes, easy for transplanting. I use them in shallow, bowl-shaped planters raised on plant stands on the patio. It is pleasant to have the blooms to look at through the glass patio doors during their long autumn through spring flowering.
It is difficult to choose favourite pansies and violas. Because there is such a diversity in colour and bloom style among them, gardeners will be drawn to ones that best fit their own tastes. Some of the flowers are very tailored and neat, while others are more rambunctious. Colours range from sweet and demur to shocking and wild.
If I had to choose from among the violas, I would go with the classic, award-winning Delft Blue, an elegant little confection in blue and white that bears the name of the beautiful and well-known Dutch porcelain.
Delft Blue was awarded a European Fleuroselect Gold Medal in 2012 for its lovely colouring and its reliably stable growth and flowering. I grow it almost every year. It has never disappointed. William Dam Seeds lists Delft Blue.
As for the larger-flowered pansies, I’m currently experimenting with the Karma Series (Lindenberg Seeds) because one variety in the series flowered well into summer last year, long after all the other pansies and violas had drifted into oblivion in the heat.
Among pansies, as with violas, choices will depend on favoured colours and the effect desired, as in something soft and soothing or shockingly vibrant.
The Fizzle Sizzle pansy series is really showy. The series is commonly available as a colour mixture, in lovely hues of blue, burgundy, yellow and more. The large blooms are wavy and ruffled. A container planting creates an eye-catching showpiece on a deck, balcony or patio.
Dear Helen: I recently heard the first of May referred to as “May Day.” What is the date’s significance and does it have anything to do with gardens?
A.F.
There are two levels of significance to May 1.
Historically, is was a day to celebrate and anticipate the coming of summer. The day lies roughly halfway between the spring equinox in March and the summer solstice in June. The day was traditionally celebrated with the gathering of flowers and acts of generosity such as visiting the lonely and delivering “May baskets” of flowers.
May Day is also International Workers’ Day, which celebrates achievements in workers’ rights and honours worker activism and the sort of solidarity seen last year among different segments of the film industry.
GARDEN EVENTS
Gordon Head meeting. The Gordon Head Garden Club will meet this evening (May 1) from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Gordon Head Lawn Bowling Club, 4105 Lambrick Way in Saanich. Ken Luther will speak about “Boss Mosses of Southern Vancouver Island.” Visitors are welcome at no charge.
Plant sale. The Gordon Head Garden Club will host its Annual Plant Sale on Saturday, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Gordon Head Lawn Bowling Club, 4105 Lambrick Way, Saanich. Plants, tools, floral displays, the Garden Cafe and door prizes.
Qualicum plant sale. The Qualicum Beach Garden Club will hold a plant sale on Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 525 Yambury Rd. in Qualicum. Plants, vegetable transplants, garden-related items.
