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/ed pansies work best because they “have more Impact, more bang for
the buck, for their roadside recognition,” sald Bruce Hellerlck, Lancaster extension
agent, second from left, who showed the Idea Garden to Master Gardeners. He said
that gardeners should choose the single color that best fits into the landscape.
The Multifloral , Mellifluous,
Memorable Pansy
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
When considering robust, col
orful, fragrant flowers for the
home or office gardenscape, don’t
forget that 1993 is the Year of the
Pansy.
These “face”-like flowers,
with single blooms and five petals
rounded in shape, come in a multi
tude of colors and some are very
fragrant.
The National Garden Bureau
recently designated this year as the
Year of the Pansy, a delicate look
ing flower that is “quite durable
and a flower for all seasons,”
according to the bureau’s Pansy
Fact Sheet.
A plethora of pansies were on
hand to greet visitors last week at
the Lancaster Farm and Home
Center. Many of the extension’s
Master Gardener graduates literal
ly ‘ ‘pitched in’ ’ and helped festoon
the outside of the Farm and Home
Center building with the fragrant
and would you believe edible?
blooms.
Bruce Hellerick, extension
agent, said the pansy is an under
rated plant in many landscapes.
‘ ‘One of the things the Idea Garden
is trying to foster is to show how
jgnatedthls yurt. jnsy,
adallcate looking flower that it quite durable and a flower for all seasons, according to
tha bureau’s Pansy Fact Sheet. A plethora of pansies were on hand to greet visitors
last week at the Lancaster Farm and Home Center.
beautiful the pansy is and how use
ful it can be to any landscape,” he
said.
For many home gardeners,
indeed, the challenge rests in try
ing to come up with the right color
combinations. Single-colored pan
sies work best because they “have
more impact, more bang for the
buck, for their roadside recogni
tion,” said Hellerick.
He said that gardeners should
choose the single color that best
fits into the landscape.
If the gardener prefers fragrance
over roadside eye appeal, then they
should select the yellow or blue
pansies, which seem to have the
strongest scent, according to the
fact sheet.
In general, according to the
sheet, the history of the pansy is
linked to the viola, its ancestor.
The word pansy comes from the
French “pensee,” which means
“thought or remembrance.’’
Pansy blooms are single with
five petals that are rounded in
shape. The flowers have one of
three basic color patterns. Blooms
can be a single, clear color, such as
yellow or blue. A second pattern is
a single color having black lines
radiating from the center these
ate called penciling and are similar
to viola markings. The last type is
familiar to most home gardeners
the bloom has a dark center
called a “face.”
Colors include red, purple, blue,
bronze, pink, black, yellow, white,
lavender, orange, apricot, and
mahogany. The plant itself is com
pact, not more than nine inches in
both height and spread, and bears
many stems. Varieties include
large (3'A to 4'A inches), medium
(214 to 3'A inches), and multiflora
(114 to 214 inches). Most are in
series, including Crystal Bowl,
Accord, Imperial, Majestic,
Crown, Maximum, and Universal.
According to Hellerick, the pan
sies represent a test of hardiness
conducted at the center. Trans
plants from four-inch pots, market
packs (six plants in a pack), and
bareroots were used. The four-inch
pot transplants, because of their
large root system, did the best, fol
lowed by die market packs, and
lastly by the bareroot plants (many
of which died).
Pansies are available most gar
den centers for up to $2 for a six
pack.
Ina few weeks, other new plants
with the idea garden will come into
bloom, according to Hellerick,
including the Calendulas ("pot
marigolds”) and Dianthus (a
single camation-like flower).
See your nearest
(SEW HOLLANJ
Dealer for Dependable
Equipment and
Dependable Service:
PENNSYLVANIA
Annvdle, PA
BHM Farm
Equipment, Inc.
RDI, Rte. 934
717-867-2211
Carlisle, PA
R&W Equipment Co.
35 East Willow Street
717-243-2686
Oavldsburg, PA
George N. Gross, Inc.
R.D. 2, Dover, PA
717-292-1673
Elizabethtown, PA
Messick Farm
Equipment, Inc.
Rt. 283 - Rheem’s Exit
717-367-1319
Halifax, PA
Sweigard Bros.
R.D. 3, Box 13
717-896-3414
Honey Brook, PA
Dependable Motor Co.
East Main Street
215-273-3131
215-273-3737
Honey Grove, PA
Norman D. Clark
& Son, Inc.
Honey Grtve, PA
717-734-3682
LoysvWe, PA
717-789-3117
MARYLAND
Frederick, MD
CeresviHe
Ford New Holland, Inc.
Rt. 26 East
301-662-4197
Outside MD.
800-331-9122
NEW JERSEY
Bridgeton, N.J.
Leslie G. Fogg, Inc.
Canton & Stow Creek
Landing Rd.
609-451-2727
609-935-5145
Woodstown, NJ
Owen Supply Co.
Broad Street &
East Avenue
609-769-0308
Hughesvllle, PA
Farnsworth Farm
Supplies, Inc.
103 Cemetery Street
717-584-2106
New Holland, PA
A.B.C. Groff, Inc.
110 South Railroad
717-354-4191
Oley, PA
C.J. Wona'dler Bros.
R.D. 2
215-987-6257
Pitman, PA
Schreffler Equipment
Pitman, PA
717-648-1120
Quakertown, PA
C.J. Wonsidler Bros.
R.D. 1
215-536-1935
Tamaqua, PA
Charles S. Snyder, Inc.
R.D. 3
717-386-5945
West Grove, PA
S.G. Lewis & Son, Inc.
R.D. 2, Box 66
215-869-2214
Washington, NJ
Smith Tractor &
Equip., Inc.
15 HHlcrest Ave.
201-689-7900