Garden Sweet Pea

Buy sweet pea seed and learn how to grow sweet pea flowers from in depth instructions.

Garden sweet pea.

A good project for kids. Sweet pea seeds are about 1 8 so they re especially easy to plant. Plump juicy peas taste like little pearls of sugar. Plant out in mid spring and keep well watered.

Gather the flowers in the morning when the dew is still on them. It is most often seen trained up bamboo stakes or structures but can also be left to form mounds or planted in containers where it spills over the sides. This is when their scent is the sweetest. The biodegradable pots can be put right into the ground reducing transplant stress.

When plants are 10cm tall pinch out the tips to encourage bushy growth. The colorful and fragrant sweet pea is a favorite in cottage gardens and other informal garden styles. Try fresh in soups or steamed or store for winter use by drying of freezing. The name is also used to describe other edible seeds from the fabaceae such as the pigeon pea cajanus cajan the cowpea vigna.

Most varieties have tendrils that will self cling to supports but some sweet peas will need tying in. Plant sweet pea seeds in autumn or spring. Victorians loved sweet peas for their color diversity and fragrance. Sow as many sweet pea seeds as you can and you won t regret it.

There are over 100 species of sweet peas and according to the southern living garden book despite the name not all are fragrant but all have the classic pea family bloom one large upright roundish petal called the banner or standard two narrow side petals the wings and two lower petals that form a boat shaped structure the keel. Sweet peas belong to the genus lathyrus. Botanically pea pods are fruit since they contain seeds and develop from the ovary of a pea flower. Sweet peas are one of the april birth flowers.

With 20 30 more sugars than other pea varieties garden sweet is a ready made dish that needs little preparation from the garden to the plate. The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed pod of the pod fruit pisum sativum each pod contains several peas which can be green or yellow. Start sweet peas in cowpots. Peas contain 18 essential vitamins and nutrients a powerhouse of health.