The days grow short for the Johnny Jump-Ups – also known as violas, but I like the common name better. You can keep your pansies, though they are lovely. I prefer these prolific smaller blooms. I am in good company since Mississippi’s favorite garden expert, Felder Rushing, also advocates for Johnny Jump-Ups. I put them into an ideal location every year with an ornamental cabbage and a snapdragon or two just before the dreary gray days of winter begin.
The two concrete pots, guarding the steps to my she-shed, once watched the front steps to the lifelong home of my mother-in-law and form that perfect spot. When she had to leave that home, my oldest brother-in-law arranged a day of taking turns for her four sons (but mostly their wives) to choose items they wanted to keep that had little more than sentimental value. One sister-in-law declared that I always made the choice she was going to make next as we took turns. She had also wanted the pots and checked when we moved to Mississippi from Louisiana that we had not left them behind. She was relieved when I declared I couldn’t do such a thing.
As spring comes, the violas get droopy and leggy. They lose their zip in the heat, and time comes to take them out and put something else in the pots. The snapdragons go on a while, but the lopsided cabbage and wilted Johnny Jump-Ups need to go. I will replace them with practical plants like tomatoes, green peppers, and basil. I got a picture of one pot just before the end came, but the other had already gone. It always makes me a little sad to see their end, though I am very thankful for the cheer they have brought on those gray winter days. The sadness lasted this year, as it usually does, only long enough for me to take a trip around the she-shed to the other side where spring lilies are taking their turn to bring merriment.