Sweet Peas…

Sweet Peas by Alfred Noyes

Under the sweet-peas I stood

And drew deep breaths, they smelt so good.

Then, with strange enchanted eyes,

I saw them change to butterflies.

Higher than the skylark sings

I saw their fluttering crimson wings

Leave their garden-trellis bare

And fly into the upper air.

Standing in an elfin trance

Through the clouds I saw them glance….

Then I stretched my hands up high

And touched them in the distant sky.

At once the coloured wing came back

From wandering in the zodiac.

Under the sweet-peas I stood

And drew deep breaths. They smelt so good.

Sweet Peas are my number one choice when I am planning what to sow for the summer. Why? 

1. Sweet Peas are very easy to grow! It is, however, a good idea to use either root trainers or failing that, toilet rolls or a container with good depth, as the roots are long.

2. Nowadays, there are a huge variety of colours from which to choose! It’s like being a child in a sweet shop, when selecting which colours to grow! 

3. The scent from most Sweet Peas, is intoxicating. ( I’m talking about the annual Sweet Peas, not the perennial varieties, which give little or no scent) So no need for air fresheners once the Sweet Peas arrive!

4.  Sweet Peas make an excellent cut flower bouquet. You’ll have endless bunches, throughout the summer.

5. Sweet Peas are pollinator friendly.

6. The more that you harvest your Sweet Peas, the more your plants will produce!

7. It’s so easy to save the seeds.

The Sweet Pea was first discovered in the late 1690s by a Sicilian monk named Francis Cupani. Indeed, there is a variety named after him. This is Old Spice Cupani, one of the varieties that I sowed this year. For scent, it is delightful! 

Other varieties that I tend to choose are the ‘Spencer’ varieties (mixed colours); ‘Air Warden’ and ‘Winston Churchill’  ( both red); ‘Early Mammoth’, ‘ Heirloom mixed’ and ‘Here Come the Girls’ ( mixed colours). 

    ‘Here Come the Girls’

If you want to find out more about how to grow Sweet Peas, then you can visit here

But if you take my word, it is well worth sowing Sweet Peas and you won’t be disappointed!