A popular summer flower

Stamp on garden pansies

One of the new stamps issued in March is a 0.65 euro stamp on garden pansies, designed by Ms Pirkko Juvonen. The garden pansy is bred from violets, old, popular summer flowers. They have been considered as a symbol of modesty, coyness and loyalty, and often been related to expressions of longing and love.

Wild violet species

There are almost 500 wild violet species in the world, and about one dozen original species grow in Finland. These include, for instance, the blue-flowered heath dog violet (Viola canina), the common dog violet (Viola riviniana) and the multi-coloured wild pansy (Viola tricolor), of which the garden pansies (Viola wittrockiano), used for decorating gardens, parks and balconies have been bred by hybridising different species.
Stamp issue: Finland, March 2003