2 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



on a ground of pure white ; an equally charming effect is 

 sometimes, though less frequently, seen with Violas. 



It may be well to explain at the beginning of this book 

 the different meanings which have come to be attached to 

 the names Show Pansy, Fancy Pansy, Viola, Tufted Pansy, 

 and Violetta. 



Prior to 1850 there was only one kind of Pansy known 

 and grown in Britain it was entitled to be called simply 

 " The Pansy/' because there were no others. It was the 

 progenitor of what are known as Show Pansies (see coloured 

 illustration). The colours were confined to yellow, white, 

 blue, and purple, but the remarkably fine velvety texture 

 which so many associate with Pansies was most apparent 

 in the rich purple shades. Show Pansies are now suffer- 

 ing comparative neglect, their place in popular appreciation 

 having been taken by their more gaudy sisters the Fancy 

 Pansies. These latter are of continental origin, and were 

 first known as Belgian Pansies. The colours of this race 

 are varied as the rainbow, and include, besides the old 

 colours which appeared in the Show Pansies, shades of pink, 

 red, rose, orange, salmon, mahogany, and others blended 

 and mixed in the most beautiful and often fastastic manner. 

 The old school of florists regarded it as essential that the 

 eye of the Pansy should be clearly cut, and to this day any 

 one who has had a florist's training instinctively protests 

 against the rayed or ragged eyes seen in so many strains of 



