• Originally published November 17, 2009 at midnight, updated November 18, 2009 at 3:10 p.m.

It is getting to be the time of year when many of the deciduous trees are beginning to lose their foliage. That means it's getting to be the best time of year to start collecting leaves to add to your compost pile.

Leaves can also be used as a mulch for flowerbeds or vegetable gardens.

Leaves are good for spreading on the rows of vegetable gardens. They will help to keep your shoes dry if the walkways are wet from watering or rain, and they also help to prevent weeds.

Keep in mind that this time of the year, along with the first of spring, is the most active time to be planting annuals. But many of you might still have annuals from this past summer that are blooming. I know it's hard to pull up plants that still look good and are blooming. There's nothing that says you have to get rid of summer annuals. But, if you want to have beautiful, cool-season annuals blooming, and at their best by Christmas, it's time to get them planted.

One of the most popular of all cool-season annuals is pansies. These little beauties will last all through our cool and cold weather. But, they need to be planted now so they can get established before cold weather gets here.

All pansies will need a sunny area with a good, rich soil that drains well. Raised beds are great for pansies.

Gardeners usually plant pansies from transplants. Growing pansies from seed can be difficult. Pansy seeds generally prefer cooler temperatures and dark conditions to germinate. Transplants are available from many sources.

When buying pansy plants, look for compact plants, not leggy, that have dark green foliage.

Next, you will have to decide which color of pansies to buy, and that's not an easy job. There are so many different colors of pansies to chose from. Some pansies have solid color flowers, some pansies are bi-colored with a blotch on their flowers, and some pansies have whiskers painted on their flowers.

I think an area or bed planted with pansies of all the same color makes the best show.

Pansies should be planted about 7 to 10 inches apart. If your planting area doesn't already have fertilizer added to it, add it at the time of planting. Any multi-purpose, natural fertilizer will be good for annual plants. I think Rose-Glo fertilizer is one of the best, and easiest to use. Once planted and fertilized, it's time to mulch.

Pansies can also be grown in pots and hanging baskets. No matter where they are planted, watch out for pests. Snails, slugs and pillbugs can be a problem if not treated. Sluggo Plus is a great natural bait that will keep all your plants free from the bad guys.

Other pests are the deer. Deer love pansies. You will either need to plant all your pansies in an enclosed, deer-proof area or keep the plants sprayed with a deer repellant spray.

Pansies make a good cut flower, as well as garden plant. When picking for cut flowers, cut the flower with enough of a stem to put in a vase. The flowers, minus their stems, can also be floated in a container of water or in a pond.

Pansy flowers can also be candied and eaten. Flowers that have not been sprayed with chemicals are edible.

Candied pansy flowers an be used to decorate cakes and cupcakes. To candy a flower you carefully paint the flower with a mixture of egg white and a bit of water, and sprinkle superfine sugar all over each flower and let dry.

Until next time, let's try to garden with nature, not against it, and maybe all our weeds will become wildflowers.

Laurie Garretson is a Victoria gardener and nursery owner. Send your gardening questions to laurie@vicad.com or in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77902.

• Print
• •
• Share
  • Share this item

    Send this to a friend

    Share on FaceBook

  • Grab the link

    Copy and paste the link:

  • Blog about it

    Blog about this page.

  • Close
• •
• Post a Comment
• •
• Favorite
• •
• Report error
  • Thank you for your submission.
    Error report or correction

    Contact name (optional) Contact phone/e-mail (optional)  

    
  • Close
• •