Italian Pansies and the Faraone Mennella Family

Early February found me traveling to Italy with my seventeen year old son. Although we planned to see as much as possible along the way, our primary destination was awaiting us in Sarno, a town in the Campania region just outside of Naples. I was going to meet the family that is responsible for some of the most beautiful pansies in the world, a family that has been in the seed business for over 150 years, growing fields of flowers at the foot of Mount Vesuvius.

Carmine Faraone Mennella began selling seeds in 1870. His grandson, Renato Faraone Mennella, has been focusing on breeding and plant genetics for decades and continues to sell seeds for his own very special varieties to select growers. In 1956, Renato and his brothers founded Farmen which began work in new varieties of F1 hybrid flowers and they quickly received worldwide recognition. Shortly after, he went to England to gain further knowledge in plant genetics and in 1970 he was one of the founding members of Fleuroselect. In 2003, he formed Farao with his daughter, Dr. Anuscha Faraone Mennella, who holds a degree in Agronomy with a thesis on molecular markers. Together, they have done amazing things in the world of plant genetics and brought about some extraordinary flowers as a result. Among them is a double petunia exceptionally suited as a cut flower, a sunflower that blooms in winter, and some of the best tomatoes under the sun. Renato has been appointed an academic by the Georgophilia Academy of Florence for his work in genetics, and received numerous awards including gold medals and certificates of world recognition, one of which he received for his work in genetic improvement on the pansy (Viola wittrockiana). Additionally, they have patents within the US on their varieties prohibiting the reproduction of and/or sales of plants and seeds not sourced directly from them.

I was fortunate to be able to include some of Farao’s exceptional pansies in my book, Pansies, which just released in March from Timber Press. I can easily say they are my favorites of all the varieties I grow, not just for beauty but as they make exceptional cut flowers. I had many questions about why it is so difficult to obtain specialty pansy seed and was hoping if I went to the source of my favorite varieties that I might gain a better understanding. I had been in touch with Anuscha for a few years through my ordering of seed on a professional level for my trials, and I was so overjoyed at the invitation to visit.

As it happens, my paternal family is Sicilian and Italian, and my great-grandmother was from Casacalenda in the Campobasso province, just a couple hours north of Sarno. I decided to bring my oldest son with me, as he in particular has longed to connect further with our Italian heritage, and the opportunity was too wonderful to pass up. Although I knew he would likely be bored looking at pansies for hours on end, it was only for one day and he is an old soul with a lot of patience, so I was confident he would find a way to endure. I gathered it would end up being his least favorite day of our trip, but it turns out I was quite wrong. We took a very early train from Salerno to Sarno and were met at the station by Anuscha. The conversation was genuine, curious and thoughtful. She inquired quite a bit about me, and how I came to write the book. I learned about all her work in plant genetics alongside her father, and it honestly left me feeling quite humbled at the level of academia their family has pursued to better serve their passion for bringing new flowers into the world. I was truly fascinated to listen to Renato explain about the ways he crosses genes to make plants better suited for different climates. He is a man of nature, in that he doesn’t believe you should have to rely on anything artificial when growing plants, including chemicals and fertilizers. He believes if the genetics are good, the plant will thrive in natural conditions. His belief goes even further, in that naturally grown organic whole foods are key to a healthy life. He treated us to lunch at a local restaurant and the food was truly exceptional, with all the sauces made from his own tomatoes.

Renato and Anuscha have been breeding specialty pansies for decades, and although it is currently the most popular of all the pansy seeds I sell, ‘Chianti Mixed’ has actually been around from quite some time. It can take over a decade to bring forth a new variety that meets the high standards set for hybrid pansies, so there is very strict and specific control of the seed once it is released to approved growers and distributors. Farao is considered a smaller company in that it is entirely family owned and operates at the level which is best for their family and their seeds. They have not sold their company to a larger one, like many other seed companies choose to do, and prefer to stay at the size that allows them to have complete control over product quality and how the company is run. They have fewer employees than you would expect, and after meeting them myself and listening to Renato talk about them throughout the day, it is evident that they care very much about the work that they do and about the people that help them do it. There is an exceptional level of integrity and pride in their company, which is entirely understandable when you learn the history. Their main office is filled with historic photos, archives, catalogues, and awards. They have even retained the files from their original customers from over a century ago. I knew their seed was shipped all over the world, but learning just how large their average order is left me a bit taken aback. They continue to be strictly a wholesale company, as this is where they thrive and are able to continue their work in study and teaching. After meeting everyone and seeing the grounds, I was given free rein to photograph the pansies. Renato was quick to entice my son with a tour around the fields in his vintage fiat, with the family dog, Fulmine, along for the ride. I noticed there was a quick and endearing connection between my son and Renato, which made my heart very glad. As I wrapped up my photos, Renato drove my son and I to Naples for a lovely tour before dropping us at the train station. On the train back, my son told me that this day would always be his favorite day in Italy.

I can now confirm that it is entirely understandable why it is not possible for Farao to distribute pansy seeds on a small scale. Learning how their company has been carefully and intentionally run for decades, meeting their team, and realizing that their average seed order is several hundred thousand dollars, the effort-time-profit ratios simply do not equal up for fulfillment of endless small orders. Especially as they continue to passionately devote significant amounts of their time to furthering their own education in plant genetics as well as sharing what they already know through teaching, which I find all very admirable. So then the question remained, how can I help even the smallest of home gardeners gain access to these pansies while respecting that the Faraone Mennella family only does business on a very large scale? Renato and Anuscha proposed a solution that I am so incredibly grateful for and so very excited about. As they want to still allow everyone the opportunity to grow their pansies, they have offered me exclusivity through a very special collaboration. It is the opportunity to be a representative and direct seed distributor for my fellow flower farmers, small scale growers, and home gardeners. Additionally, I will have exclusivity to special new varieties that I will soon be able to offer. I plan to return to Faro during their trials, allowing us to work together to select new varieties to offer in the future. It was through a mutual love of the pansy, a true shared passion to further its place in the world, and genuine respect and honor for how we both do business that this collaboration came to be. I am so honored and unspeakably excited for the future.

If you are a flower farmer growing on a large scale, please reach out for options to purchase larger quantities of seeds. I am continuing to research international shipping options for additional select countries. I can’t wait to get more of these incredible pansies into your gardens! There is so much goodness to come!