Viola hybrida Alpha F1 Moonlight

The Viola Alpha 'Moonlight' is a beautiful hybrid pansy, whose bicolored flowers evoke a winter's night, dark and cloudless, in which the moon is shining brightly. Its contrasting flowers gaze up at the sky, revealing two large midnight-blue petals next to three petals of a barely bluish-white, blotches of the same deep blue. Medium-sized flowers bloom abundantly very early in the season, borne on short stems on compact, early-flowering, and very uniform plants. This variety takes off very well in spring and does not bolt with the first heat, ensuring a long flowering season. It is also an easy-to-grow biennial plant in humus-rich and moist soil.

Garden pansies, sometimes called Swiss giant pansies, are actually hybrids grouped in the Viola x wittrockiana group. They belong to the Violaceae family and are most often grown as annuals or biennials, though actually short-lived perennails. The variety Alpha F1 'Moonlight' is a bushy plant that quickly forms compact slightly spreading clumps, 15 cm (5.9 in) tall and 20 cm (7.9 in) wide. Its flowers early, from late winter to late spring, or from late spring to late summer. Alpha F1 'Moonlight' pansies have medium-sized open flowers (4 cm (1.6 in) in diameter), with the lower 3 petals, almost white, adorned with very dark blue blotches, the largest of which is on the base of the central petal. The tiny flower centre is bright yellow and white. The medium green leaves are elliptical and broadly crenated.

In the garden, they are at their best in window boxes, on the windowsill, where you can have them right under your nose whilst keeping them sheltered from the cold. Try combining them with primroses, wallflowers, grape hyacinths, daisies... and even with grasses like Japanese sedge for a graphic, contemporary effect. Lovely combined them with Heucheras and tulips, they also look great with the blue-green of the glaucous fescues.

Pansy petals are edible, their colours will bring a touch of originality to your salads and pastries. For this, think of growing them as you would grow your own vegetables - as naturally as possible.