Pansies In The Frost

Although I mentioned pansies in the last post I didn't expect to get a shot of them coated in ice. This is a good show of how hardy they can be. When the ice melts in a couple days they will just keep on growing.

On the way back to the house this evening I saw many more pansies in front of businesses having even more color and showy blooms than this one.

Urban Pansies

I spent a bit of time in Dallas over the last few days.  The urban landscape is pretty bleak, exept for the humble, oft-overlooked, edible pansy.  These members of the viola family are on display in almost every flowerbed, and are obviously enjoying this mild weather.

 

Pansy Time

When I came in from the field, still afflicted with rashes of poison ivy, I saw the landscaping crews outside the office ripping out the plants that had been flowering and putting in pansies. They do this every year around this time when the heat is bound to stay down.

I personally don't do pansies. They look neat and come in lots of colors but I prefer things that come back easily and rough it out. I also prefer things I can use in everyday cooking.
You can, of course, eat pansies, not sprayed with pesticides. They make cupcakes look really neat either plain or crystalized with sugar if you aren't going to serve them right away.

If you dry them you can incorporate them into homemade paper or other crafting projects. My wife has made a pendant using dried flowers. She picked smaller ones though due to the size she was working with.