By Beatrice Hawkins
Sweetpeas are one of my favourite flowers for their delicate appearance, beautiful colours and spectacular fragrance.
A vase of blooms in the house fills it with the beautiful perfume and definitely says spring is here.
Obviously these birth month flower choices were made in the northern hemisphere but, “down under”, if you were born in April it is time to plant these lovely additions to any garden.
Ideally you would have dug old composted manure into the bed about six weeks ago and everything would be ready to go.
Soak the seeds in warm water overnight and plant them about one-centimetre deep and 20 centimetres apart and supply a good trellis for them to clamber up.
If you don’t have such a fence or structure available make a teepee of three tomato stakes and wind tie wire, string or netting in a spiral.
Put the seeds in on each side of this and you will have happy plants and a lovely cone of flowers for picking in spring.
The best thing you can do for your plants once they start flowering is to pick them, as this encourages more flowers.
If you run out of containers and space inside, give a bunch to a neighbour. I don’t know of anyone who wouldn’t appreciate such a gift. If any do go to seed, remove the pods but do not be tempted to eat them as they are toxic and will make you ill.
Finding the history of sweetpeas has been a challenge as there are a number of places claiming to be the origin, but it seems Sicily, southern Italy and the Aegean Islands have the most believable claim. They became really popular in the 1600s.
One thing that is known however, is that a new variety was developed by the gardener, Silas Cole, at Althorp Park in England.
The flower was much larger, bright pink, highly perfumed, very attractive with frilly petals and was named “Countess Spencer” after Princess Diana’s grandmother. People were very excited over this new form and much work was done in breeding these on.
They became available in all colours except yellow. This is the type from which all modern varieties are derived.
Flowers often bring special memories and sweetpeas remind me always of a very special family friend. She learnt cake decorating in the ’50s and the first major project she decorated was a cake for my mother’s birthday.
It was iced as a cane basket filled with handmade icing sweetpeas in wonderful colours. To a small child who had never seen this type of art before, it was just fascinating.
This same lady iced all the cakes for our significant family occasions until her death many years ago.
It is also time to plant edible peas in all their forms – snow, snap, sugar and pods. I already have the usual green snowpeas up and thriving but this year I want to plant a variety that has purple flowers and purple pods! I first saw them growing last year in a garden in the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers and have since found that they are relatively new and were first developed in England, USA and in Bendigo, Victoria.
However purple podded Dutch peas, also known as Capucijner peas are not new and are believed to have been grown by the Capuchin monks in the 1500s. They are one of the best dried peas for use in soups.
Like purple beans, purple snowpeas lose their colour if cooked for long so are best used cooked quickly in stir fries, blanched or used fresh in salads for their great colour. Another way of serving them I discovered from my daughter, is to split them down the spine, stuff them with cream cheese or whatever soft filling you choose and serve them as a canape or on a cheese platter as something different. Her children love them like this – a good way to tempt children to eat fresh vegies.
As with most deep purple vegetables and fruits, they are very good for you as they are high in antioxidants and anthocyanins which have been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties and to boost the immune system.
I have also found a yellow variety, so maybe I am going to have multi-coloured peas in my garden! Just imagine the visual appeal of purple, green and yellow snowpeas stuffed and served as part of an antipasto platter.
The last thing to know about both sweetpeas and edible peas, is that they are really good for your soil as they add nitrogen so you do not need to add this to the soil before planting.
The Warwick Horticultural Society will hold an information evening on 31 May at 7pm in the CWA rooms in Grafton Street. Mrs Heather Prior, an internationally known floral art judge, will share some of her expertise. Her husband, Mr Noel Prior, also a highly qualified judge, will give some tips on propagation and also the care of indoor plants. This will be followed by supper and a chat. Come and join us for an enjoyable and informative evening.
*This is an old article that has been digitised so our readers have access to our full catalogue.
