viola tricolor aka johnny-jump-up aka viola wittrockiana aka pansy

While I was cleaning the flower bed at the end of summer last year, I saw a plant marker for these pansies, and wondered whether they had died. We had moved into the house in April and never saw these babies. In July I had dug up the irises and daylilies to separate them and trade, so I never realized that there were pansies in there — the previous owners had let the iris/daylily bed go so thick that you couldn’t see underneath the mass of leaves. What a pleasant surprise this year to see that there were pansies in there. The lovely purple is just breathtaking, especially since it’s 3-yo Yena’s favorite color. I’m glad they survived my brutal digging and uprooting. After they bloom I’ll move them to a nicer spot this year; hopefully they’ll reseed again (or I’ll save some) for next year’s garden, in a place where they can shine better.