For the love of Sweet Peas
When it all comes together..
Sweet peas are in my top five of all flowers. And its not a flower I was ever familiar with, apart from in books or online, until I grew it myself. First year I had one tiny bloom, having mixed up the peas and the sweet peas. The second year I had a better idea of how to grow them and was rewarded with little vases of them, having grown a small bed full in my raised bed patch. Apart from the beauty what stuck me also was their scent. If you leave a vase in a room, the scent will greet you before the flowers do! And well year three, I decided to build a wall of them.
Mid July as the sweet peas were coming into their stride.
The planning of the wall started in October 2019 when the first seeds were planted and kept out of reach of mice who love sweet pea seeds as much as they love my tulip bulbs. Over the winter I researched and decided on further varieties I wanted to sow. I read everything Floret Farm related on sweet peas and following the advice also of English flower farmers like Georgia Newbury. In early January I planted the rest of the seeds and began to plan where to plant them. I chose the most sheltered part of our garden, the ground had been cleared so the next step was to feed the soil.
March came and the lockdown came so I had to improvise on posts and nets as we there was no where open to purchase the ones I had planned! In the end we used wooden posts and a mix of chicken wire on one side and football netting on the other.
April as the sweet peas went into the ground. One bloomed and I took it as a good sign! Phone Photo.
As the summer went on the flowers continued to grow reaching up over seven foot in places.
Early August when the flowers were incredible. I spent a few hours one afternoon sitting in the middle reading taking in all the amazing scents. Photo from my phone.
As I write this I’ve already ordered my seeds for 2021 and am planning to expand and improve the wall! More excitingly is I’m going to be selling seeds for sweet peas having sourced the best and these will be available to order in the next couple of months. I’ll share exactly how and when to sow so that you can grow your own quite easily and be able to enjoy the incredible scent of sweet peas in your home.
All the best
Maria
Thank you to Una O’Connor photography for the beautiful photos of the sweet peas.