Viola tricolor Seeds - Hearts ease

Viola tricolor, also called wild pansy, is a small annual or biennial plant that is much sought after for the delicacy of its blooms and is the wild ancestor of the cultivated pansy that braves the harshness of winters to decorate our window boxes. From summer to winter, it tirelessly displays its corollas in combinations of shades of blue, white, yellow and violet. Each bloom looks as if they were hand-painted, each displaying their own individual personality. Over time, it forms a beautiful carpet of leaves and flowers and self-seeds spontaneously and profusely in moist, well-drained soil, in the sun.

Heart's ease or wild pansy belongs to the family Violaceae and grows spontaneously in many parts of Europe and temperate Asia. It is a low-lying perennial plant that has given rise to many hybrids, the most famous of which are to the cultivated hybrids known as garden pansies. It is a herbaceous, spreading plant that measures up to 15 cm high when in bloom and whose dark green, oval, crenate, evergreen leaves form a flared, spreading clump that tends to be somewhat mat-forming. Heart's ease is sometimes perennial, but most often grows as a biennial. Depending on the date of sowing, this plant will flower from spring to winter, sometimes continuously if it is cut back at the end of summer. Its solitary, lateral flowers, borne on long, fine peduncles, appear on fine, airy stems. The sepals are never larger than the corolla, which is 10 to 25 mm long. It comes in shades of purple, purple, blue, yellow or white. The yellow, white and violet tricolour form is the most sought-after, giving the species its name. The whole flower reaches around 15 mm in diameter and the petals have a silky texture that reflects light well. The angular, branched stems bear oval, lobed or lanceolate leaves. The plant spreads fairly quickly through its rhizomes and can easily self-seeds in the garden.

Wild pansies, just like horned violets, are meant for decorating low-lying beds, borders, pots and balcony planters, where they can be combined with other spring and summer flowering plants (forget-me-nots, dwarf daffodils, common daisies, primroses, botanical tulips, summer and autumn asters). The flowers of violets and pansies are edible, so don't hesitate to decorate your plates with one or two flowers, or to use them to add a touch of colour to your salads.