(NC)-As soon as you can dig the soil in your garden, you can start thinking about your color choices and planting pansies as a garden border, full beds or in containers. Whether it's an array of color and shape or a specific color treatment to complement a certain theme or holiday, pansies are the hardy flower to start your spring gardening efforts.

Pansies grow well if you work slow release fertilizer into the soil prior to planting, or use liquid fertilizer at the time of planting and every two weeks to encourage more blooming. And, of course, regular watering keeps the plants from drying out.

In most cases, you would plant them six inches apart and they grow from six to eight inches tall. And, if you plant your summer annuals around your pansies, as the pansies get 'leggy' and your summer annuals get bigger and fuller, you'll have a colorful garden from early spring until fall.

Most pansies come in various shades of yellow, blue, white, red and purple and some with variations and blends of these colors. Use color to your advantage. If you plant yellow pansies, for example, these blooms can be seen from far away or, they can lighten up a dormant corner.

Whether looking for color for a border or a rock garden, pansies are the 'feel good' flowers with their happy, welcoming 'faces'. For inspiration for your garden design or planting information, go to http://www.fernlea.com, the pansy specialists.

- News Canada