Pairing pansies in an autumn planter: 5 beautiful ideas

In a mini planter, with foliage

For city balconies or seasonal displays on a small table by the entrance to the house, nothing beats amini planter with a duo of pansies and foliage.

When it comes to pansies, there is plenty of choice, from delicate mini pansies such as Viola cornuta ‘Sorbet xp Lemon Jump’, Viola tricolor, or Viola ‘Sorbet Delft Blue’.

Many foliage plants are interesting for their evergreen qualities, and once the pansy has finished flowering, all that remains is to replace it with a small spring-flowering annual or perennial.

Here, we have paired a small horned pansy with variegated ground ivy: it is semi-evergreen in many regions. If the planter is large enough, add two more delightful foliage plants, such as a small ‘Peter Pan’ ivy, attractively marbled and well behaved in a container, along with Muehlenbeckia axillaris, whose tiny, perfectly round leaves will also cascade over the edge of the planter.

Viola cornuta and variegated ground ivy, Muehlenbeckia axillaris and ‘Peter Pan’ ivy

Create pink displays with mini chrysanthemums and heathers

Autumn is a source of inspiration for planting pansies whose colours blend perfectly with other small flowering plants in shades ranging from red to purple, and pink to mauve.

For a window box in these very “girly” shades, you can plant one or two pansies, even in a small container, such as the compact pansy ‘XP Pink Wing‘, with white and lavender-pink flowers, or the large-flowered garden pansy ‘Ultima Radiance Pink‘.
Shorter chrysanthemums, such as the garden chrysanthemum ‘Rotes Julchen’, covered in a myriad of small pink flowers punctuated by a yellow centre, will set them off beautifully, as will a heather.
Heathers are, for the most part, very compact plants and work wonderfully in window boxes. Forget your preconceptions about them: whatever their species or variety, heathers complement pansies over a long period with their delightful flowering, producing pink bell-shaped flowers. For this very romantic window box, choose species that flower at the same time as pansies, such as Daboecia cantabrica, or St Dabeoc’s heath, or choose a Calluna and an Erica for a truly extended display, with some heathers flowering until late October and Erica beginning to flower in mid-autumn. Place this window box in full sun or partial shade.

Pansies, Daboecia cantabrica ‘Purpurea’ and Chrysanthemum ‘Rotes Julchen’.

For a more contemporary feel: Pansies, Carex and ferns

For a more understated planter, opt for white pansies, paired with small grasses that are very useful in containers: sedges. Replace them with stonecrops in a very sunny position. These two perennials are evergreen and create a fine setting for beautiful pure white pansies, such as the medium-flowered ‘Matrix White’ pansy, or a trailing pansy such as ‘Cool Wave‘, for a cloud of flowers until April. These frost-resistant pansies will grow back well in spring, extending the interest of this planter for many months.

Choose a compact Carex, ideal for a small container, such as Carex morrowii ‘Aureovariegata’, with yellow striations, or Japanese sedge ‘Eversheen’, which is slightly more tousled. A small ornamental dwarf ivy can be added to a large planter to provide extra volume, such as Hedera helix ‘Dyinniii’ with its deeply divided foliage.

‘Matrix White’ pansies, Asplenium ebenoides, Carex morrowii ‘Aureomarginata’ and ornamental ivy Hedera helix ‘Dyinnii’

If you replace the ivy with a stonecrop, the planter can be placed in a much sunnier position. Sedum spurium ‘Album Superbum’, semi-evergreen, is ideal, particularly as it flowers much later, once the pansies have finished flowering, in early summer. If you have room, also add a mini conifer sold in a mini pot, which can easily be found in garden centres from September onwards, such as a mini thuja, perfect for this full-sun planter arrangement.

Trailing ‘Cool Wave’ pansy, Sedum spurium ‘Album Superbum’ and Carex morrowii ‘Aureomarginata’

Fresh combinations in yellow and white with cyclamens and asters

By choosing yellow pansies, or yellow and purple bicoloured ones, you can pair them with other very fresh yellow and white autumn flowering plants. Pacific chrysanthemum (Ajania pacifica) makes a particularly cheerful seasonal companion for heartsease, or entirely yellow pansies such as ‘Penny Yellow‘. Consider adding another late-season flowering plant to the planter to accompany them, such as dwarf asters. In the example below, we chose Aster ericoides prostratus ‘Snow Flurry’.

Wallflowers or winter aconites can even be planted at the same time in a large container to bring even more light in the depths of winter and in spring! This type of planter will need sunshine for much of the day.

Viola cornuta, Aster ericoides ‘Snow Flurry’, Ajania pacifica and Cyclamen hederifolium ‘Album’

A blue wave…

Finally, blue and mauve shades are plentiful among pansies. If you buy some in these colours, why not pair them with other bluish autumn-flowering plants? The pot or window box placed on the balcony or on a prominent little table on the terrace will bring a welcome touch of peace and softness at this time of year. Horned pansy, Viola cornuta ‘Sorbet XP Coconu Swirl’, a pretty little pansy with white flowers edged in blue-black, is adorable and can be combined with several small perennials. For a more intense result, choose pansy ‘Sorbet XP Blackberry’, with its distinctly purplish-violet flowers.

The blue dwarf aster, Aster dumosus Augenwide, is particularly well suited to growing in a window box because of its small size. Its myriad blue-violet flowers with orange centres will be in perfect harmony with the colours of the pansies. This blue-toned combination has the advantage of lasting for many weeks. You can add a few rhizomes of Algerian iris to the planting if you plan to keep the window box for several years, as it takes a little longer to establish. But what a delight it is to see it take over in early winter! This way, the window box comes to life over several seasons.

Horned pansy ‘Sorbet XP Coconut Swirl’, Aster dumosus ‘Augenwide’ and Algerian iris

Decorating tips for your autumn planter

Small horned pansies look lovely planted in pairs or groups of three; larger-flowered pansies can be planted on their own alongside other perennials or grasses.

Adding a few spring-flowering miniature bulbs to pots and planters, such as crocuses, grape hyacinths, snowdrops and species tulips, or, in deeper containers, Erythroniums and small alliums, will extend the interest of your planter into spring.

There are plenty of containers suitable for pansies, so feel free to let your creativity run wild: a small osier basket lined at the bottom, a mini stone or terracotta planter, a zinc container or an old cake tin, an old salad basket and hessian for a retro look…

A little moss gathered from a shady corner of the garden and hey presto… the planter looks like a star straight from the florist, but even prettier because it is homemade!

If you place your planter on a small garden table, brighten it up further with autumn fruits: ornamental gourds, common hop or dried hydrangea heads, walnuts and hazelnuts, chestnut burs, rose hips, pine cones, physalis… A charming display for an Indian summer or as Halloween approaches.

This kouglof mould is home to pansies, heather and a pompon chrysanthemum, with extra charm provided by autumn fruits.