floradania.dk 09/2012 

Article: Spring knocks at the door 
Although the ground is still hard and cold, you can easily fill the pots with lovely spring flowers and give the spring a warm welcome 

A small amount of effort brings great rewards when the hallway is filled with lovely harbingers of spring in fresh, bright colours. The pansy, Viola, is the epitome of spring. The name covers a broad range of plants for early planting out, which is being extended every year with new, exciting varieties to the delight of consumers. 

Garden pansies for every occasion 
The most famous pansy variety is probably the large-flowered garden pansy, Viola x wittrockiana, which blooms from March to June and thrives in full sunlight. With its rich variety of exciting colour combinations, it offers a myriad of opportunities to create small spring scenarios in pots and window boxes. Anything is possible: from clear, pure colour groups to more muted colour-on-colour arrangements. 
Playful spring with Frizzle Sizzle 
In addition to the broad colour palette, there is also a host of different forms of flowers and leaves. If you like plants that are a bit quirky and different, Frizzle Sizzle will provide a festive element, with its fun, curly petals that liven up the spring pots. 
Glorious horned viola
Another familiar and much-loved member of the viola family is the horned viola, Viola cornuta, known for its many flowers. There are horned violas with both large and small flower heads. Some horned violas are flat-growing, and thus form a kind of carpet, which makes them highly suitable as ground cover in the company of other plants. Horned violas return again year after year, and have a faint scent. They thrive best in a bright location, but do not tolerate direct sunlight. 
Scented pansies: 
Sweet violet, Viola odorata, is another perennial that can be planted out from early spring. It is self-seeding and grows wild in thickets and gardens. It will thrive in pots and beds in direct sunlight, and is also very suitable for providing ground cover. Sweet violet is especially known for its wonderful scent, from which the Latin name derives, which means "scented violet". Sweet violets are also used as candied violets in desserts and baking. 

So let the spring begin at your doorway, with beautiful colours, shapes and scents. And you need not be afraid that the young spring flowers will succumb if temperatures dip to freezing or just below. They may look fragile, but just see how strong and fit they are. 

Caption: The new variety of Frizzle Sizzle, 'Orange', is the first orange garden pansy with fringed leaves.