Pansies are some of the most beautiful and prized garden flowers. These pretty perennials can bring carpets of color to any outdoor space. In this post, we’ll investigate the various meanings and symbolism of pansy flowers.
Pansy flowers are traditionally seen as symbols of love – both romantic and platonic. In Victorian floriography, pansies often represented forbidden love between secret lovers.
Although technically perennials, pansies have a relatively short lifespan of approximately two years – a bit like biennials. They produce green foliage in their first year and seeds and flowers in the second year.
There are hundreds of pansy cultivars available today, but here are some of the most popular:
Pansy ‘Adonis’
Pansy ‘Cat’s Whiskers’
Pansy ‘Joker Series’
Pansy ‘Tiger Eyes’
Pansies get their name from “pensee,” an old French word meaning “to think.” When this word was incorporated into English, it was used as another name for the viola flower.