Pansies are the perfect winter flower

Most of the plants in my desert garden are not doing much of anything. Some look pretty bleak, with frozen leaves and others though still green, are certainly not growing. However there are spots of color here and there, especially in the pots of pansies I planted early in the fall. They are amazingly hardy despite the cold and even freezing nights we have had here. The flowers freeze with icy crusts but as the sun comes out they warm right up and are as beautiful as ever. I am really loving these plants that give me so much color with so little care. While I continually lug all my potted cactus back and forth from the sunny area in the afternoon, to the protected patio area at night, the pots of pansies stay out in the open day and night and it seems they only bloom more with the cold nights. My Mom dries the blooms and makes pictures, book marks and other crafty items with them- so I've taken to drying some of the blooms in an old phone book. If I end up doing something with them I will post pictures.