IKE the lilac and the rose, the Pansy is a flower that everyone 
recognizes instantly. Whether it is a single blossom gathered 
from a child’s garden or contributes to a prize-winning display 
at a flower show, the Pansy is part and parcel of our lives. It has 
the charm of familiarity and is such a friendly thing that its presence 
in a bouquet of other flowers always brings a smile of delight. 
Long ago Pansies had quaint names like Live in Idleness, Cull 
Me to You and Three Faces in a Hood. Originally they were 
small, scentless blooms but careful seed selection has brought us 
the huge modern Pansies in a much wider range of color than the 
original blue-violet. 
Springtime will be even lovelier in your garden if you make full 
use of Pansies. Finding new places for them is a perennial delight, 
for they combine beautifully with spring-flowering bulbs and 
shrubs. Planted in masses by themselves Pansies make a breath- 
taking picture. Long beds of them bordering walks, along a hedge, 
or in front of a foundation planting are a sight to remember. Such 
plantings may be of either solid or mixed colors. 
If you set out your Pansy plants in the fall, they will be among 
the earliest flowers to appear in your garden in the spring. This 
means that their velvety blooms are showing at the same time as 
English daisies, narcissus, tulips and other spring bulbs. So why 
not take advantage of this fact by combining them with some of 
these flowers? For example, blue and white Pansies planted al- 
ternately as a border for yellow and white narcissus or pink azaleas 
are delightful, while white Pansies alone are lovely as an under- 
planting for Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica). 
Shrubs and hedges with bare lower stems are much more at- 
tractive with Pansies covering their nakedness. And _ besides, 
the Pansies often can be used to introduce color into these sections 
of the garden that would otherwise be without it for several weeks 
to come. Practically any dark, cheerless corner can be made bright 
and inviting by even a few Pansy plants. They can be tucked in 
odd nooks and between rocks in a wall or flight of stone steps. 
Remember that the best way to keep your Pansy plants bloom- 
ing is to pick and pick and pick the flowers. Do it every day. 
Why Not Plant Yourself a Border 
of Pansies This Fall? 
No doubt all of us, at some time or other, have worked hard for 
a certain effect m the decoration of a room—only to discover 
that the simplest is best, with no fuss and frills. So it often happens 
in the planning of our gardens. Simple, everyday flowers, used in 
profusion, may give a much happier effect than an elaborately 
worked-out scheme calling for a great deal of maintenance. Cer- 
tainly a border of Pansies will be one of those charm spots that 
give pleasure out of all proportion to the work involved. If you 
get yours started this fall, next spring you will have loads of 
Pansies, outdoors and in. 
