Blue Frost Pansy

Pansy

Viola x wittrockiana 'Matrix Blue Frost'

(vy-OH-la) (wit-rok-ee-AH-na)

Wordless Wednesday

Violas

Viola

Viola 'Columbine'

(vy-OH-la)

This is what we found while looking for a few Pansies to augment some of the containers at work. I fell for the streaky purple coloring and fresh smell of ‘Columbine’. Overall I would have preferred Pansies because of their larger showier flowers but only Violas were ready at the nursery. It was nice to see they were offering (this is a grower) several different types for a change. We also got a flat of dark purple/white Viola and they seemed to compliment the lighter ‘Columbine’ flowers nicely.

Since I have a virtual mountain of work email to send out this post is going to be a little short. There is also a mound of paperwork that has to be dealt with. Get me back to the garden where I am more comfortable, please.

Woolly Blue Violet

Woolly Blue Violet

Viola sororia

(vy-OH-la) (so-ROR-ee-uh)

Synonyms: Sister Violet, Viola papilionacea

This is a classic flower that can be invasive, which sometimes causes some ill will towards it. To me it is usually an asset, especially in deep shade. This black and white is from a nice strain that inhabits the walk to the tennis court. The markings and shadings are very nice and it doesn’t seem to reproduce too rapidly.

Viola sororia is a common wildflower that can be variable. Some distinguishing traits include heart shaped leaves, flowers and leaves are on separate stems that come from the roots, the flowers are held just above the leaves and the flower petals are not spurred. It is the state flower of four states (Wisconsin, Illinois, Rhode Island, and New Jersey). The flowers are edible as are the roots.

Visit Today’s Flowers for flower pictures from around the world.

Bonus picture for Sunday.

Daylily

Hemerocallis

(hem-er-oh-KAL-iss)

A black and white Daylily from the summer.

Johnny Jump-up

Johnny Jump-up
Viola cornuta
(vy-OH-la) (kor-NOO-tuh)

These happy faces have been greeting me each day on the way out to the truck to go to work. They were left over from the first batch of Pansies and Violas we planted that got frozen but have made a steady comeback since then. This year I saw more Johnny Jump-ups for sale then ever, which is a good thing. Many of the varieties have nice shades of blue and purple. This picture is of one of the darker types. They seem to mix well with Pansies and are very similar. The major difference between a Pansy and Viola is the flower size. The Violas are much smaller. They make up for that by having a lot of flowers per plant.