A charity in Guernsey is appealing to local gardeners to help protect a native flower at risk of extinction by becoming its “custodians.”
Grow Guernsey is collaborating with the botany section of La Société Guernesiaise to preserve the dwarf pansy (Viola kitaibeliana). The initiative involves distributing 40 plants, along with botanical information, planting instructions, and care guidelines, to local residents willing to nurture them in their gardens.
The dwarf pansy, first recorded in 1871, once flourished along Guernsey’s west coast and Lihou Island. Today, Pleinmont Bay is the last place in the British Isles where this flower still grows naturally.
Helen Litchfield, co-secretary of La Société Guernesiaise Botany Section, emphasized the critical nature of this effort, stating, “I cannot stress enough the importance of this initiative—without it, the species could well become extinct.”
