Proven losers

That’s what pansies are in my garden. They look good for a few weeks, and then get all leggy, stop producing blooms, or simply die. Yet, I keep buying them (right, definition of insanity).


This year my plan is to plant them out very early, which is now. Daffodils are only beginning to pop in our area, as you see above. I figure I’ll get the most out of them before the trees fully leaf out. They seem to require much more sun than they’re advertised to require.


They are pretty though. I bought some common white ones, shown at top, and some fancy types (fancy in looks, names, and price), which are very showy, and which I already distrust intensely. I expect they’ve been on the shelf a bit too long, but hopefully they maintain their usefulness through tulip season. Then they’ll be replaced by shade annuals.


But there are many plants that have short seasons of beauty, like cherry trees (my forced branches above) tulips, mock orange, certain antique roses—far too many to list, and I buy and grow a lot of them. For some reason, the only ones I really resent are pansies. Perhaps because they do last longer for other gardeners.