I planted my pansies in the beginning of April. They’ve powered through 3 freezes, a nasty weird freaky hail storm and all around general neglect.

They’ve got super model looks and Captain America strength.  While your Tulips and Daffodils are making their retreat, the Pansies are bringing up the rear. Plant them in the Spring, cut them back in the heat of the summer, and they’ll refresh themselves by the fall.  They come in a wide variety of colors, and color combinations, both in the Spring and the Fall.

I’ve mixed white Alyssum  and some Johnny Jump Ups (gotta love that name!) with my Pansies in pots.  They’re in abundance every where this time of year.  The big box stores certainly have plenty colors to choose from, but the smaller specialty nurseries have the unique color combinations like the white with the lavender edge and the yellow center in the photo above.
You can plant them along the border of your gardens, giving you a bright cheery pick me up when you come home at the end of a long day.  Use them as fillers in bare spots until your perennials bloom.  For serious plant drama,  plant them en masse in one bold color under your trees.
 

Spring here is unpredictable. A couple of weeks ago my sister got sunburn helping me repot my seedlings while sitting at our table on the deck. Admittedly we have a low bar for sunburn because we have all Irish dna, (so fair skinned we nearly glow in the dark), but it was sunburn a couple of weeks ago and frost last week.   Our weather means we really only have this one annual available to us in the Spring. But as I see it, that’s ok. The Pansy is beautiful and hardy. What more do you need?