Winter Color: Pansies and Snapdragons

I took advantage of a gorgeous day yesterday and worked in our courtyard flower beds. The Lantana I planted back in the summer had become leggy, with sparse blooms, and it was time to replace it with some color for the coming winter months.


Here in Mississippi, that means either pansies or snapdragons, our tried and true cold-resistant flowers. I decided to use both.


I love diggin' in the dirt, and spent the afternoon doing just that. First, I pulled up the Lantana and cut the tops off and stuck the root balls in a plastic bag to take to our land and plant the next time we go. Hopefully, they will come back in the Spring.

The flower beds were still wet from recent rains and were easy to work up, although messy. It doesn't take me long to get grubby when I'm working in the yard, but it seems like the grubbier I get, the more fun I have.

Have you ever noticed when you're planting flowers that no matter how hard you try to avoid planting them in "rows," that they always seem to end up that way?


I love the colorful pink and yellow snapdragons, and like the way the blue pansy border complements them.

I had a few snapdragons left over and planted them in the urn by the waterfall, and planted the left over pansies in another urn (shown above).


I also planted a different color snapdragons in another flower bed, but forgot to take pictures of them. I'll try to capture them after they grow some.

After I finished planting the flowers, I cleaned up all the mess and "watered them in." Then I added my favorite gardening sign:


Here are some closeup shots I captured of the snapdragons and pansies:



Later in the afternoon, I was sitting on the patio with my husband (admiring my work), when I noticed a magnolia bud on one of the Little Gem Magnolias planted behind the waterfall. The late afternoon sun was shining on it, almost as if to say, "Look, look! Here's your lagniappe for today!"


I hope to capture it when it opens, because it will probably be the last magnolia of the season.

What kind of flowers do you plant to add color for the winter months where you live?