It's Time to Plant Sweet Peas!

It wouldn't be Autumn without sowing a few of those little round Sweet Pea seeds! October is the month to sow Sweet Peas, the most deliciously fragrant flower in the garden. 

Here are a few helpful hints on how to grow sweet peas:

Sweet Peas need a long growing season, here in the southwest we plant in the fall and they bloom in the spring. Choose a nice sunny location. Make sure your soil is nice and well cultivated and has plenty of composted manure. I usually dig down to a depth of 10 inches. I soak my seeds for 48 hrs, and plant seeds about an inch deep. Sweet Peas are climbers and will need a vertical support or trellis. They can reach a height of 5 or 6 feet. Keep them well watered.  Now... watch and wait! 

                                           Have a wonderful week!

A Thing of Beauty

If the rose is the queen of the garden, then the sweet pea would be the princess. Sweet peas are delicious and delightful. After planting in late fall, I had almost forgotten about my sweet peas until now, when they make their springtime appearance, almost like a ruffly, winged butterfly. I confess, I have an emotional attachment to this lovely old-fashioned flower. As a child my grandfather's entire chain link fence was covered with this intensely fragrant flower. I remember him picking a bouquet for me and wrapping the stems in a damp cloth for the ride home, when I buried my nose in the soft pedals.

 A member of the pea family, an annual, and native to the Mediterranean region, sweet peas grow well in a sunny location. They like well-drained soil that should be kept lightly moist. They should be fertilized with a weak manure tea periodically and the flowers should be picked frequently for continued blooming. Sweet peas like cool weather so, don't plant until October. I'll be sure and remind you when the time is right. Sweet peas are so worth the wait!

Here's a little more interesting information about sweet peas.