Smiling Pansies

Pansy breeding has produced a wide range of flower colours including yellow, gold, orange, purple, violet, red and even black (dark purple)many with large showy face markings.

The pansy has two top petals overlapping slightly, two side petals, beards where the three lower petals join the center of the flower, and a single bottom petal with a slight indentation.

The name pansy is derived from the French word pensée meaning "thought", and was so named because the flower resembles a human face.

Etymology: Middle English pancy, pensee, from Middle French pensée, from pensée thought, from feminine of pensé, past participle of penser to think, from Latin pensare to ponder

The pansy remains a favorite image in the arts, culture, and crafts, from needlepoint to ceramics.

The pansy is a delicate looking flower often with a "face." The pansy is quite durable and a "flower for all seasons." Pansies are growing in gardens during the winter in the South or Southwest and during the summer in the North. There are fall pansies available now that can be planted in autumn in the north-west. They will bloom until the frost and are almost the first ones to appear in the spring.

The fragrant and edible blooms are desirable in gardens. Pansy popularity increases possible due to its ease of growing. Whether grown from seed or bedding plants, pansies are relatively disease and pest free blooming prolifically for the gardener's enjoyment.

Heart's ease! one could look for half a day
Upon this flower, and shape in fancy out
Full twenty different tales of love and sorrow,
That gave this gentle name.

- Mary Howitt, Heart's Ease



Pansies in soft April rains
Fill their stalks with honeyed sap
Drawn from Earth's prolific lap.

- Bayard Taylor,

Thank you for the lovely post.
The pansies that were planted here in the fall are already blooming, and some of them are still covered by a little bit of snow.

The pansy is also the flower
of Osaka, Japan.

Love,
yoko

Thank you for the lovely post.
I saw some pansies blooming already when I went for a walk on Sunday. This means that spring is finally here.

Love,
Vicky


Pansies
R. C. Lehmann

Tufted and bunched and ranged with careless art
Here, where the paving-stones are set apart,
Alert and gay and innocent of guile,
The little pansies nod their heads and smile.

With what a whispering and a lulling sound
They watch the children sport about the ground,
Longing, it seems, to join the pretty play
That laughs and runs the light-winged hours away.

And other children long ago there were
Who shone and played and made the garden fair,
To whom the pansies in their robes of white
And gold and purple gave a welcome bright.

Gone are those voices, but the others came.
Joyous and free, whose spirit was the same;
And other pansies, robed as those of old,
Peeped up and smiled in purple, white and gold.

For pansies are, I think, the little gleams
Of children’s visions from a world of dreams,
Jewels of innocence and joy and mirth,
Alight with laughter as they fall to earth.

Below, the ancient guardian, it may hap,
The kindly mother, takes them in her lap,
Decks them with glowing petals and replaces
In the glad air the friendly pansy-faces.

So tread not rashly, children, lest you crush
A part of childhood in a thoughtless rush.
Would you not treat them gently if you knew
Pansies are little bits of children too?

http://poetry.poetryx.com/poems/15688/

Thank you for the nice post Inda.

I saw some pots of pansies in my neighbourhood grocery store. I think I will pick some up. Those little flowers do look as if they are smiling, and they are a sure sign of spring having finally arrived.

Sincerely,
Gisele

Thank you Inda.
My gardner near my home had pansies for sale as well. I will pick up some pots on the coming weekend.
They are very colourful and as Giselle said , they look as if they are smiling.

Love,
Sue

Growing one's own choice words and fancies
In orange tubs, and beds of pansies'
One's sighs and passionate declarations,
In odorous rhetoric of carnations.

- Leigh Hunt (James Henry Leigh Hunt),
Love-Letters Made of Flowers

http://www.giga-usa.com/quotes/topics/flowers_t004.htm

From: From Recollections Of Early Childhood Ode On Intimations Of Immortality

By William Wordsworth





Ode On Intimations Of Immortality From Recollections Of Early Childhood


- But there`s a tree, of many, one,
A single field which I have look`d upon,
Both of them speak of something that is gone:
The pansy at my feet
Doth the same tale repeat:
Whither is fled the visionary gleam?
Where is it now, the glory and the dream?

http://wordsworth.classicauthors.net/PoemsOfWilliamWord...liamWordsworth1.html

From: LOVE IN A DAIRY
Crawford, Isabella Valancy (1850-1887)

The swallows twittering in the eaves,
The air of Summer blowing
Thro' open door from where a score
Of tall rose-trees are growing,
A distant file of hollyhocks,
A rugged bush of tansy,
And nearer yet beside the steps
A gorgeous purple pansy;

http://www.familiesonlinemagazine.com/love_poems.html

Pray you, love, remember. And there is pansies, that's for thoughts.

- William Shakespeare,
Hamlet Prince of Denmark
(Ophelia at IV, v)



And the spring arose on the garden fair like the spirit of Love felt everywhere.
- Percy Bysshe Shelley

Pansies, lilies, kingcups, daisies,
Let them live upon their praises.
- William Wordsworth, To the Small Celandine

I have a friend who asked a choreographer if it was a requirement for a male dancer to be gay and she replied "no but it helps." He was aware that I had done ballet for a time when he made me giggle with that quote. He also knew I was not gay. Not all pansies are men, either is what I was thinking. When my sister and I were still babies our first mother's helper was a lovely woman named Pansy Brown from Jamaica. Pansies are in the same family as Violas, and as a child I went to Viola Wolfe's dancing school where I was taught to tango by a beautiful and talented dancer named Merillee. Viola Wolfe knew how to pick 'em. My advice is plant violas in the shady places because they do better than a lot of other species and always go dancing with Wolfes. I'd add to that - if you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.

Thank you yogionefromobie.

When I visit San Francisco I will remember to wear flowers in my hair.



I would have loved to meet Pansy Brown and Viola Wolfe


I always move my pansies into the shade when the summer gets too hot. They do much better out of the sun later in the season.

Thank you for sharing this Vicky:

ODE:
FROM RECOLLECTIONS
OF EARLY CHILDHOOD

William Wordsworth


... In a thousand valleys far and wide,
Fresh flowers; while the sun shines warm,
And the Babe leaps up on his Mother's arm:--
I hear, I hear, with joy I hear!
--But there's a Tree, of many, one,
A single field which I have looked upon,
Both of them speak of something that is gone;
The Pansy at my feet
Doth the same tale repeat:
Whither is fled the visionary gleam?
Where is it now, the glory and the dream?

**************************************************




Thank you everyone for your replies.

From:

For Annie
by Edgar Allan Poe

...For now, while so quietly
Lying, it fancies
A holier odor
About it, of pansies-
A rosemary odor,
Commingled with pansies-
With rue and the beautiful
Puritan pansies...

It is time again to look for the little pansies.
They are hardy little plants, even though they look fragile. They even tolerate some snow. It is always cheerful to see pots of pansies on doorsteps after a long and dark winter. They brighten up the environment and the soul.

Love,
Sue

Thank you Sue for bringing back this post. It is still quite cold here, but very soon the pansies will appear on doorsteps and windowboxes to let us know that spring is actually here.

Love,
yoko

I know that you are fond of cats.

Spring is here and pansies are out for sale.
Time to plant some colourful pansies to brighten up the gardens.

Love,
Vicky

Thank you Vicky for reminding us to plant pansies.
I will do so next weekend. They are such bright little flowers, they really light up the surroundings.

Love,
Sue

I actually went and bought two pots of pansies which I put in my garden
****************************************************

Pansies
R. C. Lehmann

Tufted and bunched and ranged with careless art
Here, where the paving-stones are set apart,
Alert and gay and innocent of guile,
The little pansies nod their heads and smile.

With what a whispering and a lulling sound
They watch the children sport about the ground,
Longing, it seems, to join the pretty play
That laughs and runs the light-winged hours away.

And other children long ago there were
Who shone and played and made the garden fair,
To whom the pansies in their robes of white
And gold and purple gave a welcome bright.

Gone are those voices, but the others came.
Joyous and free, whose spirit was the same;
And other pansies, robed as those of old,
Peeped up and smiled in purple, white and gold.

For pansies are, I think, the little gleams
Of children’s visions from a world of dreams,
Jewels of innocence and joy and mirth,
Alight with laughter as they fall to earth.

Below, the ancient guardian, it may hap,
The kindly mother, takes them in her lap,
Decks them with glowing petals and replaces
In the glad air the friendly pansy-faces.

So tread not rashly, children, lest you crush
A part of childhood in a thoughtless rush.
Would you not treat them gently if you knew
Pansies are little bits of children too?

Pansies are here again. I put some pots in our garden on the weekend, and their smiling little faces really brighten up everything.

Love,
Vicky

Thank you for bringing back this topic Vicky.
Pansies are really beautiful to look at after a long winter. I put a couple of pots into my garden on the weekend, and I can see them from my dining room. They really look bright and cheerful.

Love, Inda

I put some more pansies into the garden for Easter, and they are so colourful and cheerful to look at. All our other spring flowers are barely starting to bloom, so the pansies really brighten everything up.

What a wonderful post, I love pansies too and just the other day a friend advised me to plant some pansies, because they are very resistant besides being so beautifully colorful. Created this haiku for you right now:



Pansies mock girlies:

playful they sway in the sun

to show off gay robes





Love,
Margherita

Thank you dear Margherita for joining this thread, and thank you for the very beautiful words:

Pansies mock girlies:

playful they sway in the sun

to show off gay robes


Love,
Vicky

quote:

Pansies mock girlies:

playful they sway in the sun

to show off gay robes

Thank you for the beautiful words Margherita.

Pansies are really such a joy to see after a cold winter.

Love,
Sue

Thank you, dear Sue and dear Vicky, for your inspiration and for your appreciation of the little haiku.

They remind me also of my youth, as we had them in our garden in Switzerland. "Daenkeli" such is the name in Swiss German.

I want to see if I can find a picture with this Swiss name

Yes!

Love,
Margherita

quote:

Pansies mock girlies:

playful they sway in the sun

to show off gay robes

Thank you for the little haiku Margherita.
It is as lovely as the pansies.

Thank you all for the wonderful images.
pansies do brighten up this part of the world. We have long winters and this year spring seems to be a bit on the cools side as well. These vibrant, colorful little flowers are very lovely to see.



Love,
yoko

Thank you Margherita for your lovely image.

Pansies are all over the place.
I see many pots in gardens, in entranceways and on windowsills. They are smiling at us with happy little faces.

"Pansies in soft April rains Fill their stalks with honeyed sap Drawn from Earth's prolific lap." -- Bayard Taylor

Pansies are in a lot of gardens now, and I see a lot of pansies planted in pots on windowsills and entrance ways.
They are so lovely, and it seems that they are smiling because spring is really here.

Love,
Vicky

I see many homes have pots of pansies on their steps, windows and flowerbeds. This is the time to enjoy them.

 

Love,

Vicky

I just bought some pots of pansies as well for my front steps and my garden.