CHAPTER III 



TUFTED PANSIES OR VIOLAS 



CHARMING and beautiful as the Show and the Fancy Pansy 

 are, however ; the Tufted Pansy (Viola) is, for general all- 

 round utility, pre-eminently superior. Possessing, as it 

 does, so compact a growth in comparison with the Pansy, 

 and so hardy and robust a constitution, combined with 

 such wonderful free-flowering propensities, and also 

 with such remarkably diverse markings and colours, the 

 Viola ranks second to' none, when planted in masses, 

 edgings, or for the general beautifying of the flower 

 garden. The most pleasing and useful characteristic of 

 the Viola is the extensive period over which it bears its 

 flowers ; the plants beginning to bloom in the early 

 Spring, and continuing without abatement far into the 

 Autumn. In fact, the writer has picked blooms ofFcertain 

 varieties of Violas on Christmas Day, and this in the 

 open, in a by no means sheltered position. Of course 

 the blooms were very rough ones, and of little practical 

 value, but it just serves to illustrate the remarkable pro- 

 pensity this type of the Pansy has for flowering for such 

 a length of time. 



Few subjects in the hardy flower garden will give 

 such remarkable results in return for so little trouble 

 and expense as the Tufted Pansy. The habit, as above 

 mentioned, when compared with that of the Pansy, is so 

 much more compact and therefore more adaptable for 

 bedding purposes. It is these features, together with 

 the above-mentioned properties, which cause the Tufted 



