FRESH PICK WHAT TO PLANT THIS WEEK PANSY (VIOLA WITTROCKIANA).

Byline: Barbara De Witt Staff Writer

Pansies are perhaps the friendliest flowers in the garden.

Those velvety petals with blotches of dark color create happy little faces that keep the garden looking bright through the coldest of Southern California winters. It's a winning combination that makes pansies a fall favorite with local gardeners, says Conrad Delgado, manager of the nursery department at Orchard Supply Hardware in Canoga Park.

The winter varieties of pansies are so weather-resistant it's hard to believe they're related to violets, which usually require a perfect climate to flourish. However, both flowers can be eaten and are often seen freshly picked in salads or candied for cake decorations.

VARIETIES AVAILABLE: Pansies come in a variety of heights, ranging from the Ghost type that grows up to 10 inches tall, to the Sprite, which makes a great ground cover. Pansies are available in numerous colors and color combinations, but Delgado says Valley gardeners prefer the purple with black blotch that has a very defined face for winter months, changing to yellow pansies in the summer. For those who like a lot of yellow in their purple pansy - instead of the single dot of color in the center - try the Morpheo pansy. If you live at higher elevations where there really is a chance of snow, check out a new variety called Icicle pansies from Fernlea Flowers. For very large tricolored pansies, try the Majestic, a favorite of horticulture experts Bruce and Sharon Asakawa, authors of ``Bruce and Sharon Asakawa's California Gardener's Guide'' (Cool Springs Press; $24.95) and publishers of the bimonthly magazine Garden Compass.

GETTING STARTED: Plant winter pansies now for blooms through March. Plant seedlings from nursery ``pony pack'' about 6 inches apart in cultivated soil that has been refreshed with plant food, then soak well to give them a good start.

Ideally, they'll be in a place where they'll have full sun, but they'll also do well with partial shade, such as a window box or patio.

CARE AND MAINTENANCE: Pansies are a low-maintenance flower, requiring daily watering the first week, then moderate watering. To keep the flowers blooming longer, you'll want to regularly pick off the ``dead-heads.'' Unfortunately, pansies are very tasty to snails and slugs, so you may need to sprinkle snail bait around your garden perimeter. And be on the lookout for ants, another enemy of pansies.

LANDSCAPING TIPS: Pansies look great clustered in pots on the patio or porch, as well as in flower beds where they are grouped in front of or around taller flowers such as mums, snapdragons, candytuft, alyssum and phlox.

Pansies look attractive in solid masses of color; variations of a single shade, such as blue; or an assortment of colors, mixing clear colors with the blotch variety.

For Halloween and fall harvest themes, consider a combination of solid orange and black (dark purple) pansies or a bed of bronze, yellow and orange pansies.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Talk to your nursery manager, or a horticulturist at public gardens such as Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge or the Arboretum of Los Angeles County in Arcadia. Or look up ``Viola'' in the ``Sunset Western Garden Book'' (Sunset; $32.95). For information on Icicle pansies, visit www.iciclepansy.com. To learn more about gardening in the San Fernando Valley, contact the Southern California Garden Club at [phone] or visit www.CaliforniaGardenClubs.org. To subscribe to Garden Compass magazine, call [phone].

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The winter varieties of pansies are hardy flowers, making them a fall favorite among gardeners.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer