Field Pansies and Bluets

The roadsides around our house are now displaying a Lilliputian garden of tiny beauties. Pictured above are flowers of Field Pansies (Viola bicolor) and Bluets (Hedyotis crassifolia). The flowers of the Field Pansies are only about one inch across and the Bluets at most half that. Bluets are in the plant family Rubiaceae, which also includes such plants as Coffee and Quinine.

The photographs below show the two extremes of color found in Field Pansies. These plants are annuals, so they have to come up from seed each year. They have been especially prolific this year. We have never seen a better display along the roadsides. Johnny Jump-up is another common name for these plants. It refers to the plants quick growth in the Spring, when they seem to “jump up”.

Field Pansy

Blue Field Pansy