The Pansy

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“There’s pansies, that’s for thoughts.”
William Shakespeare, Hamlet

 The name “pansy” comes to us courtesy of the English, who mangled the French word “penser” (means ‘to think’) in the mid-1400s. At that time the word was used for the wildflower we call a viola or johnny jump up. The flower was widely used for centuries as a romantic gesture and as a symbol of secret courting.  A violet or purple flower meant passion, yellow for happiness, and white for “let’s take a chance!”  Shakespeare used the pansy several times in his plays.                     

The large flowers we know today are a result of the gardening passion of the British landowners in the 18th and 19th centuries. Lady Mary Elizabeth Bennett of Surrey, England, was the first to introduce the large pansy flower to the world in 1812. Other gardeners quickly followed in her path, and within 20 years there were 400 named varieties of pansies.


Whether known as heartsease, Johnny jump up, love-in-idleness, violets, or pansy, the pansy has a history in folk medicine as an aid for respiratory problems of pain reliever. Modern studies have shown that all parts of the pansy are edible; pansy tea has a mild sedative effect; and pansies contain salicylic acid (the main ingredient in aspirin. As a garnish, the pansy makes an elegant and dramatic addition to a dinner plate.

The pansy is one of the first flowers we in Delaware can plant. The flowers come through snow and freezing temperatures and give us confidence that spring is coming. And after four snowy nor’easters this month, we want that reassurance!

- Ruth

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