Pansy Day at the Needham Historical Society

Pansy Day is THIS Saturday!

Pansies are Needham’s Official Flower, and April is Pansy
Month. The Needham Historical Society’s Pansy Festival will take place on Saturday, April 5th from 9:00 am until 2:00
pm.  Join us for pansies and
perennials, gift sales, exhibits, a cup of hot coffee, and a general good time.
For kids, there will be a coloring contest and a scavenger hunt.

 The Needham Historical Society will also be selling pansies
from April 6 through April 12 at its headquarters at 1147 Central Avenue.  Pansies are available daily, from 10:00 am
until 4:00 pm.  The price is $3.50 for a
six-plant flat.  All proceeds benefit the
programs and activities of the Needham Historical Society. This event is
sponsored by The Needham Garden Center. 

Why pansies?  Pansies were one of the products grown in
Needham for the flower markets in the late 19th century.  Needham’s “Pansy King” was a Swiss botanist
named Denys Zirngiebel.  He grew his
prize-winning pansies commercially for decades, and sold his plants and seeds
to commercial growers all over the country. 
Zirngiebel is also famous as the grandfather of another important
Needhamite, the great illustrator N. C. Wyeth. 
The Wyeth home lay next door to the Zirngiebel home on South Street.
Both homes can be seen in Wyeth's work. (More about pansies and NC Wyeth?  See our website, www.needhamhistory.org)

For more information about Pansy Day, our programs or about
membership in the Needham Historical Society, please call Gloria Greis,
Executive Director, at 781-455-8860 or see our website at
www.needhamhistory.org.