Lathyrus odoratus (Sweet Pea)

Why Should I Grow Sweet Pea?

There are several reasons why you might consider growing Sweet Pea in your garden:

Fragrant Flowers: One of the most compelling reasons to grow sweet peas is their fragrance. They are known for their sweet, heady scent, which can fill a garden or indoor space when used in cut flower arrangements.

Attractive Blooms: Sweet peas are prized for their vibrant, colorful flowers. They can provide an array of colors to the garden, from soft pastels to rich, deep hues.

Pollinators: The flowers are popular with pollinators, attracting bees and butterflies to your garden, which can help with the pollination of other plants.

Climbing Habit: With their climbing growth habit, they are excellent for adding vertical interest to your garden. They can be used to cover fences, trellises, or arches.

Cut Flowers: Sweet peas are excellent for cut flower arrangements. Their long stems and fragrant blooms make them a popular choice for vases and bouquets.

Easy to Grow: Sweet peas are fairly easy to grow from seed and can be a fun plant for beginners or children to try growing.

Early Spring Color: Sweet peas are one of the earliest flowering climbers, bringing color and fragrance to the garden in late spring and early summer.

However, always bear in mind their toxicity – all parts of the plant, particularly the seeds, are toxic if ingested. This should be considered if you have pets or young children. Also, in some areas, sweet peas may become invasive through self-seeding, so it’s important to manage them appropriately.

Garden Design with Sweet Pea

Sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) offer a wonderful mix of vivid colors and heady fragrances that can significantly enhance your garden design. Here are a few design ideas:

Vertical Interest: Use sweet peas to add vertical interest to your garden. They are climbers and can be grown on trellises, archways, fences, or pergolas. This can draw the eye upwards and create a sense of height and depth in the garden.

Cottage Garden: Sweet peas are a classic choice for a cottage garden. You can mix them with other traditional cottage garden plants like roses, foxgloves, and delphiniums. The colorful and fragrant blooms contribute to a sense of casual abundance that’s typical of cottage gardens.

Cut Flower Garden: If you like to bring fresh flowers indoors, consider including them in your cut flower garden. Their long stems, vibrant colors, and lovely fragrance make them perfect for bouquets and floral arrangements.

Container Gardening: There are dwarf varieties that are well-suited to container gardening. You can place the container in a prominent location to make the most of their eye-catching blooms and delicious fragrance.

Pollinator Garden: The blossoms attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Including them in your garden can therefore help to increase its biodiversity.

Spring Garden: Sweet peas bloom in late spring and early summer, adding color and fragrance at a time when many other plants are only just beginning to grow.

Edging Paths: Plant them along garden paths or entrances. As you pass by, you can enjoy their delightful scent and vibrant blooms.

Remember to provide a support structure for your plants to climb on, and to keep them well-watered, especially during dry spells. And don’t forget to deadhead spent blooms regularly to prolong the flowering period.

Companion Plants

Sweet Peas are wonderfully versatile and can be successfully paired with a range of companion plants. Here are some ideas:

Climbing Roses: The combination of sweet peas and climbing roses on an arbor or trellis can be quite stunning. Sweet peas bloom earlier than most roses, providing color until the roses take over.

Delphiniums: Tall delphiniums can provide a colorful backdrop. Their similar growth habit and vibrant blooms can create a harmonious display.

Foxgloves: Foxgloves can complement the height of sweet peas and provide a beautiful contrast with their bell-shaped flowers.

Annuals: Other annuals like marigolds, zinnias, or cosmos can provide a continuous display of color when planted alongside sweet peas.

Herbs: Fragrant herbs like lavender or rosemary can complement the sweet scent of sweet peas.

Clematis: A less vigorous clematis variety could share a support with sweet peas, providing a longer season of interest as many clematis varieties bloom later in the summer.

Grasses: Ornamental grasses can provide a contrasting texture and form, both complementing and highlighting the vibrant colors of sweet peas.

Remember that sweet peas like a sunny position and well-drained soil, so choose companions with similar growing requirements. And consider the mature size of all plants to ensure there’s enough space for everyone to grow without becoming crowded.

Growing Tips

Growing sweet pea, can be a rewarding experience with their beautiful, fragrant blooms. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to grow them:

Choosing a Location: Sweet peas need full sun or light shade. They prefer cool, moist locations and might struggle in hot, dry climates. They also need good air circulation, but avoid areas with strong winds that could damage the vines. Sweet Peas are happiest with their heads in the sun and roots deep in cool, moist soil. When possible, plant low-growing annuals before them to shade their roots.

Soil Preparation: They prefer well-drained soil enriched with plenty of organic matter like compost or well-rotted manure. The pH should be neutral to slightly alkaline. A heavy application of mulch will help keep the roots cool and moist.

Sowing Seeds: They can be sown directly into the garden or started indoors 6-8 weeks before the last expected frost. Soak the seeds in water for 24 hours before planting to help speed up germination.

Planting: Plant seeds about 2 inches (5 cm) deep and 2-3 inches (5-7 cm) apart. Once planted, germination can take 7 to 15 days, depending on the soil temperature. If starting indoors, transplant the seedlings outdoors when they are 4-5 inches (10-12 cm) tall and the danger of frost has passed.

Providing Support: As sweet peas are climbing plants, they need support to grow. This could be a trellis, netting, or bamboo canes. Ensure the support is in place at the time of planting to avoid damaging the plants later.

Watering: Keep the soil evenly moist but not waterlogged. Sweet peas have deep roots, so a thorough watering once a week is often better than frequent, shallow watering.

Fertilizing: Feed every 4 weeks with a balanced flower fertilizer to promote vigorous growth and plentiful blooms.

Pruning and Training: Regularly pinch out the tips of young plants when they are about 6 inches (15 cm) tall, to encourage bushier growth, not before, or you will promote side-shoot development. Tie the shoots to their supports to help guide their climb. Do not hesitate to cut flowers for your bouquets, as this will force your plants to produce additional stems for bloom.

Deadheading: Regularly remove spent flowers to encourage more blooms and to prevent the plants from setting seed, which can reduce flowering.

Pest and Disease Control: Monitor for pests like aphids, slugs, and snails, and diseases such as powdery mildew, rust or gray mold. Use appropriate organic or chemical controls as necessary.

Harvesting: For the best fragrance, cut the flowers in the early morning or late evening, and place them directly into room-temperature water.

Remember, all parts of the sweet pea plant, especially the seeds, are toxic if ingested, so keep them out of reach of children and pets.