Pansies and violas

Warm up winter with these cold weather favourites, which may look dainty but stand firm against the cold and even survive snow

Winter has a reputation for being grey and dreary, but there is a way to make it bright and colourful – you just need the right plants.

With their small but vibrant flowers, winter pansies and violas give us the opportunity to create colourful cold-season displays in any space, from tiny pots to generous borders.

Pansies and violas can sometimes cause confusion as they are so similar. They belong to the same plant family, and the easiest way to tell them apart is by the size of the flowers.

Pansies have larger blooms (up to 7.5cm across), however the plants produce fewer of them than violas, which have an abundance of smaller flowers (up to 2.5cm across).