Arranging Pansies Through the Seasons

Flower farmer Brenna Estrada is on a mission to celebrate an unsung hero of the flower world—the pansy. She cultivates many varieties of this approachable bloom at Three Brothers Blooms, her two-acre farm on an island just north of Seattle. There, Brenna has discovered the innumerable faces and colors of pansies, and in this excerpt from her book Pansies (Timber Press 2025), she shares the joy of arranging these easy-going flowers.

As a young child, I remember taking flowers from neighboring fields and creating small bouquets. As a teenager, I found myself disappointed with the arrangements available in local florist shops. They seemed so unnatural. The flowers, so perfectly formed and entirely identical to one another, barely seemed real. The roses had no fragrance. There was no wonder within the petals and no magic within the leaves. In my early twenties, I would buy several small bundles of flowers from the local grocer (all that was available to me at the time) and create my own arrangements at home. Some I would keep, but many I would give to friends and family. I did not have a large garden to pick from regularly, and I wasn’t even aware of the idea of a cutting garden or a flower farm for many more years. I worked with what I could find and made the arrangements as beautiful as possible, placing each flower in a way that allowed it to be seen.

A couple of decades later, I have found myself growing all the flowers I love most—including pansies and violas—and making them into the arrangements I think they deserve. For me, arranging flowers is like painting. My bouquets are full of intention, and I pour a great deal of emotion into them. I select every stem as an individual before bringing all my choices together as a whole. Each one is placed in a way that supports the beauty of the bouquet while ensuring its individuality remains discernible. I hope my approach translates for others. I am not professionally trained in making bouquets, but I have been fortunate to study a bit here and there with some incredibly talented professionals, and I have taken several excellent courses over the years. My bouquets are a reflection of how I think the flowers deserve to be seen.

Whether using seasonal local flowers, flowers that are easily and financially accessible, or flowers that were ordered with meticulous forethought and planning, one of the best things about making carefully crafted bouquets and arrangements is that each one is sure to be as unique as the individual making it. You can give a dozen florists the same flowers, and chances are, every bouquet will look different. You don’t have to be professionally trained or qualified to make bouquets and arrangements for your home. There is no rule book. Fill your home with flowers. Create vases of joy and wonder and have fun while doing it. My own arrangements are meant not as a how-to but as inspiration. Encouragement. A little nudge forward. Fill a vase, a bowl, or a jar. The vessel does not have to be intricate or expensive. If you find it beautiful, then beautiful it is. Pansies, especially, have the ability to bring elegance and beauty into your home just as they do in the garden, and they should be given the chance to do so at every available opportunity.