Pansies and On Being a Pansy

This year I did something a little different. You see, I've had this beautiful plant stand I got from my grandmother's a couple years ago. I've been meaning to put something in here, but just never have. I haven't really experimented in the ornamental planting area before. It's new, unfamiliar territory.

Having been raised in the South, this means I've spent a lifetime reading my mother's and grandmother's Southern Living magazines and being amazed by the gorgeous containers featured on a monthly basis. But my mom didn't really put containers together, so I never felt comfortable doing them either.

Until this year. I decided it was time. Time to get over my fear of ornamental plants and time to use the planter.



Here's the silhouette of the planter. It's lovely and feminine.



In the center I planted an ornamental cabbage and then put 9 or so pansies around it. I know. This is not rocket science. Why did it take me so long to do this?!

Having worked primarily with edible plants the last five years I hate spending money on purely decorative plants. It seems frivolous. But it has been so nice to have this lovely little arrangement by our front door the last month or so.

They are thriving too! Which is more than I can say about my mums which are not pictured for obvious reasons. They do not look pretty.

Now if only I can bring myself to use my other two decorative pots collecting spider webs on my front porch (which you can kind of see in the first photo).

Do you create decorative plantings? How do you do it? What are your favorite plants to use?