The Summerland Advocate-Messenger - Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community

March can be a gray month. The grass is still brown and crunchy. No flowers sprouting. Occasional sunless days.

When the sun does shine through my kitchen window, I get anxious for spring planting. The realization of how March affects the garden world brought to mind that the month definitely spurs the love affair we have with pansies.

I can hardly wait to shop for pansies. Years earlier I would love shopping for the early blooming plant as a gift for my mother’s March birthday.

I wanted the biggest flowering plants I could find and loved searching out the deep purple blooming plants for...