Pansies

I like to plant Pansies in the Fall.  I replace the dead Tomatos and deck pot flowers with them most years.  Best deal I found was 12-packs of them for $12.98 at Lowe's Home Center.  $1 per plant isn't bad.  But I decided to wait a week (the tomatoes aren't dead yet).  So I looked online at their site in a week and saw there were 8-packs for $3.98.  That's 50 cents per plant!  And there were yellow, purple, blue, white and red (and red is hard to find).  

I mentioned previously that I found small pots of individual Mums for $1.24.  That seemed a great deal, but the blooms all died.  I snipped the deadheads off.  I see new ones developing, but they may not bloom for Halloween.  There are reasons some things are cheap.

The Pansies seem the real deal though.  Some in full bloom, some with spent flowers (so I know they can flower and I can usually tell which color they were).  I bought 12 8-packs of various colors.  I'm planning 4 per deck pot (I have 6) and the rest will be planted where and when the last tomato plant dies.

The price is crazy low.  And I'm happy to take advantage of that.  Pansies will provide color on the deck and in the tomato bed all Winter and Spring.  And, in fact, they will die back almost exactly when it is time to plant new tomato seedlings.

Speaking of tomatoes, it is tie to plant them in a different spot next year.  I grow heirloom tomatoes and they aren't very resistant to diseases.  Since those build up in the soil, it is a good idea to choose a new spot every couple of years.

I stretched it to a 3rd year this year, and they struggled.  I didn't get much from them.

But of course, as any gardener (or sports team) will say "next year will be better"!