- Position: full sun or partial shade
- Soil: any well-drained soil
- Rate of growth: average
- Flowering period: April to September
- Hardiness: hardy annual
Dainty, small-headed pansies in shades of purple, violet, cream and yellow, appear in profusion for a long period throughout the summer. The flowers of this annual or short-lived perennial are edible and can be used to garnish puddings or add to salads. Perfect plant for the woodland garden, they also make very pretty addition to posies. If the flowers are left on the plant they will self-seed freely, otherwise pick them regularly to encourage more to form. - Garden care: Early sowings can be done in a cold frame, into trays of good seed compost and gradually hardened off before planting out. Alternatively sow directly into a well-prepared seed bed. Gently thin the seedlings out to 15cm apart when they are large enough to handle.
- Sow: March - May or August - September
- Flowering: May - October
- Approximate quantity: 75 seeds.
Eventual height & spread
Goes well with
Alpine trough
£21.24Wooden seed tray
£12.99Vinca minor Atropurpurea
£5.59Myosotis sylvatica
£2.49How to use companion plants
Companion planting is a method of growing different plants adjacent to one another for the benefit of one or both of the companions. Some plants are thought to confuse or act as a decoy to potential pests, while a few provide food for the pest's natural
Read full articleHow to make a new lawn
There’s nothing like a lawn to bring the various elements of a garden together as it’s easy on the eye and helps highlight other more ornamental features. Best of all, it adds much needed space to the garden and provides evergreen continuity too. But a la
Read full articlePlanting companions for roses
Early flowering roses tend to come in shades of white, pink or purple-pink and most forms of the biennial foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, have toning flowers in similar colours. These appear in rose time, but carry on after the first rose flush has finished
Read full articleFloral gastronomy
I used to be a bit sceptical about all this new-fangled fashion for eating flowers. All a bit Guardianista, I thought. Looks nice and all that, but what about the flavour? Well. Then I ate a rosemary flower. And found out about the flavour, and why people
Read full article
