Large pansy-like flowers in blues, purples, yellows, whites, oranges and bicolours, with the usual face markings, on neat mounds at 15 to 20cm.
The reason to choose Viola cornuta over an ordinary pansy is hardiness. Standard bedding pansies collapse in a cold wet British winter. This species is genuinely hardy enough to overwinter outdoors in most gardens, and it flowers from October through to April or May, sometimes right through a mild winter without stopping.
That makes it the workhorse of the cool months: for a window box or container that would otherwise sit empty from November, and for underplanting spring bulbs, where it carries the colour at ground level while the tulips come up through it.
The one thing it needs is deadheading. Let it set seed and it decides its job is done and goes over quickly; keep the spent flowers picked off and it runs for months. The flowers are edible with a mild sweet flavour and are excellent on a cake.
