Those wintertime pansies will be the ones you plant now - in your gardens and containers. And they will still be blooming when the daffodils and tulips pop up.

October is the prime time to plant cool-loving pansies. The nippy fall air is just the tonic for getting pansies off to their best start. Pansies like to bask in sunny rays streaming down on rich soil. Place them where they won't drown in winter rains but be sure to keep them watered when it's dry. If your pansies get leggy looking, just lightly trim them back. They'll like you lot if you feed them regularly.

This year's local pansy market will feature the Baby Bingo series. Able to tolerate more heat, the BBs come in six shades:

* Lavender - a true-blue face surounded by a lavender edge with yellow eye and whiskers.

* Beaconsfield - white petals on top; deep velvet purple petals below.

* Sky Blue - azure blue blooms.

* Midnight - dark purple upper petals, medium blue lower petals, a deep purple face and yellow eye.

* Yellow - a clear primary shade.

* Denim - two deep blue top petals followed by lighter blue bottom petals, a blue face and yellow eye, then lightens to look like faded blue jeans.

* Winter Blues Mix - all six colors harmonize.

You'll also find other pansies by many other names: Viola Princess Series, 6-inch plants with delicate 1-inch blooms; Majestic Giant Series with 3+- to 4-inch flowers with distinctive dark blotches; and the Delta Series with traditional 2 1/2- 3-inch blooms with clear and blotched faces.

If you're looking to treat Halloween trickers with some great fall color, look for the Trick-or-Treat Mix Series featuring an orange pansy with a black face. Plant these in a container to sit with the jack-o-lanterns and goblins decorating your front porch.