Re: [gardeners] Pansies and philosophy

drusus@golden.net (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Fri, 10 Apr 1998 07:26:43 -0400 

I am pretty sure I saw pansies of the old fashioned sort in the Stokes
catalogue.  I ssed them.  I usually sow about August for the following
year.  They can be started in Jan. indoors and they are easy to germinate
and don't keel over when you set them out, but the August-sown plants seem
much hardier.  I don't get Burpees or Parks but I bet they'd have seed too.

I especially like Johnnie Jump-ups, not quite the same but still very
pretty.  That's the heartsease from Shakespeare.   Lucinda

At 11:58 PM 09-04-98 +0000, Liz Albrook wrote:
>drusus@golden.net <gardeners@globalgarden.com> wrote:
>
>> There's always pansies, very tough.  Lucinda
>
>Yes, but can you tell me where to get the ones that they used to 
>sell?  I can't abide these Blue! Yellow! Red! Pink! pansies they sell 
>now.  I used to love pansies when I was a kid -- the tri-colored 
>pansies with faces.  I think most pansies sold now are boring as can 
>be.  
>
>The only ones I've seen in recent years that really move me are 
>Antique shades -- just 5 colors but they look like the whole spectrum 
>on parade -- and Chansom series -- ruffled and edged.  I can't find 
>either type this year.  
>
>Violas, on the other hand, are getting nicer.  Now, in addition to 
>the standard bright yellow and purple with an orange dot violas, 
>there are pastel yellow and purples along with stripes, and subtle 
>color shadings.  I'd really like to have violas similar to those 
>Tasha Tudor raises -- they are exquisite and interesting flowers with 
>complex coloring.
>
>I look at flowers this way:  I have a very small yard so I have to 
>make use of what I have in ways that will keep my attention.  I find 
>that the plain blue pansies of today look wonderful amassed in beds 
>but I just don't have that kind of space.  I'm more a single specimen 
>type and I like for my single specimens to have qualities that can't 
>be appreciated with just one glance.  Flowers that have illusive 
>scents or colors or forms that aren't easily described are emotional 
>and artistic challenges to me, much the same way chemistry and 
>physics are intellectual challenges.  
>
>I guess I'm weirder than I thought!
>
>Liz
>
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