I use to make these flower coolers when I wanted to chill a nice bottle of wine or good vodka to have down by the lake.  I have not made one of these in awhile but my pansies are almost gone so I thought I would use them now to make this.

It will keep in the freezer  indefinitely until you are ready to serve.  It is a practical and attractive way to keep the contents cool.

Use a half-gallon size milk or juice carton and cut off the top.  Put your wine or vodka inside the carton.  Drop a few pansies into the carton all around the bottle and add an inch or two of water.  Set the carton in the freezer until the water freezes.  Repeat until the container is nearly full.  You have to do this in layers as the pansies will float to the top.  The final layer should be just enough water to cover any petals that are protruding.

Comment: Thanks to a blogger’s question below you should definitely use good quality water.  I use the water from my Reverse Osmosis System which is about the same as distilled water; a lot of the impurities are removed.  As the ice starts to melt the flowers become clearer.

When you are ready to serve, peel the carton off and set the iced bottle in a bowl or deep plate.

You can use any flowers you want; I used purple pansies and Johnny-Jump-Ups and also some lemon verbena with flowers.  I also used a bottle of Absolut Vodka.  Put a scott towel underneath the ice cooler to keep it from sliding around.

Comment:  When the heat of the spring/summer comes pansy flowers will start to fade.  Just cut them back and you will have another display in late summer/early Fall.  Remember pansies are hardy and will come back every year.

See also Pansy and Herb Ice Cooler: