For In a vase on Monday I’m using an empty jam Jar this week. In my view there’s no need for proper vases all the time, especially for a simple bunch of sweet peas. Sweet peas shout out country style to me. The flowers are the stars I think.
It’s a beautiful morning here in Lancashire, North West England. I’ve been picking flowers and taking photos outside. What a lovely way to start the week. I love it when the light changes and you get a completely different shot.
I balanced the jam jar full of sweet peas on a post at the edge of one of my annual flower beds. You can see that this bed is still packed with flowers and there are loads more to come with Dahlias and Scabious and other late flowering annuals waiting in the wings.
My annual sweet peas have done really well this year. I’ve grown lots of different colours, all with delicate scent of course. That’s one of the main advantages to growing your own flowers for cutting I’ve found. Mass produced flowers are often selected for their uniformity and long stems. Not scent. If you grow your own flowers you can choose the varieties that you prefer (with scent or not) for your own garden. I’ve found that it doesn’t matter how short the stems are, there’s always a little vase (or jam jar) to suit whatever I’ve picked.
Today I’ve added a few stalks of a lovely perennial pea to this bunch. I was looking for some pale pink flowers but couldn’t find any annuals to fit the bill. You can see in this photo that the perennial pea has smaller blooms but they are exactly the shade of pink I needed and I think they are lovely too. They are really easy to grow – just sow them then leave them to it. I planted a few several years ago and they reappear every spring.
Today I’m linking up with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for In a Vase on Monday. I hope the Jam Jar makes an acceptable vase for you Cathy!
I’m also linking up with Judith at Lavender Cottage for her Monday Mosaic event. Everyone is welcome to join in.
I hope you are all enjoying your August Bank Holiday Monday.
Happy Gardening 
What a lovely summery bunch of flowers. How have you kept your Sweet Peasgoing? Mine have long given up the ghost.
I love your mosaic.
Thanks very much Liz. The trick is to pick every single bloom so they can’t set seed. We have had plenty of rain and I’ve watered them in dry spell earlier on this year so I think they have made good roots and strong stems. They probably won’t last much longer now though, I can see that they are running out of steam because they have been so productive.
Oh Gillian this beautiful vase is perfect for your peas…I wish my sweet peas had grown but your pictures have filled in the gaps for me since I could not have my own sweet peas. I could even smell them through the internet!
I do wish you could smell these flowers. They are heavenly. Thanks very much for your lovely comment Donna.
Your sweet peas are fabulous.
Thanks very much! I chose them very carefully this year because I wanted a specific group of colours and of course scent.
Hello, Your sweet pea blooms are lovely and the vase and arrangement is lovely. Beautiful images! Happy Monday, have a great new week ahead!
Thanks very much Eileen. Have a great week yourself.
Simply breathtaking! Enjoying the colors…..thank you
Thanks MaryLou. I am so glad you like them. Have a lovely day.
Looove your sweet peas – and the jam jar is a nice casual way to display them. I can almost smell their sweet perfume!
Thanks Eliza. Sadly I’m no flower arranger! Luckily for me the flowers I grow usually call for something casual to display them in. I have plenty of empty jam jars and I do have a few really beautiful vases! (just in case anyone brings me a bouquet!)
That’s a surprise, with all your beautiful garden flowers, I’d have thought your house would be scattered with bouquets. 🙂
I do cut a lot of flowers and give them away to friends and relatives. I like flowers for myself too but more often than not they end up in a milk jug or a bucket (yes I know that’s awful… but they are nice clean enamel buckets) There’s a bucket of Asters in my dining room right now! I always have a nice big bunch halfway up the stairs and occasionally I pop a little posy in a crystal vase for a bedroom but generally my posh vases are in a cupboard until we have a dinner party with guests bearing bouquets.
Beautiful flowers. Love its color.
Thanks very much.
I adore sweet peas and I can’t grow them here. So sad. So I very much enjoyed seeing yours. My BGD (beautiful God Daughter) is a Gillian, too! Lovely images. Happy Monday!
I am so sorry you can’t grow Sweet Peas. They are one of my favourite flowers. Thanks very much for your lovely comment and say Hi to your God Daughter from me.
What a lovely blend of colours, Gillian – I am not generally a fan of mixed colours but I make an exception for sweet peas and I have noticed packets with several blends of the same colour which look really effective. I have realised this year how important watering is to keep them going. Thanks for sharing today – sweet and simple
Thanks Cathy. Mixed packets of Sweet Peas are great value for money, I have grown them in the past. Major seed companies run trials and have experts to choose the right colours to mix together. I’m 100% sure that spending £2 or so on a mixed packet is value for money so you could risk it if you see some you like. This year I grew individual named varieties for specific colours (they are all over the garden) and just cut what I wanted to put together in this bunch – hence the perennial pink one gate crashing!
Mine were all specific varieties this year too apart from a mixed packet that was free, but I may treat myself to a mixed packet of one shade next year as well…
What wonderful colours, and then I just remembered they also have scent…too perfect!
Yes they do Noelle. It’s a lovely fragrance and is not too overpowering in the house like lilies for example.
I came back to see what you meant with the posting on my blog. I am a great Jam maker, and I have a cupboard dedicated to full and empty Jam jars in the utility room, and a blog too: MrsMacePreserves! No need for Mr S to get into the loft.
Good for you Noelle! Fancy vases are lovely but if you have jam jars handy then why not use them?
You have given me a beautiful sight to begin my Monday and I thank you for it! Sweet Peas are one of my very favorite flowers and the colors you have are also my favorite…a Home Run Gillian! Do you happen to know the varieties you have there?
I’ve not had great success with sweet peas and I’m not sure why. I have a beautiful flower garden otherwise. Any tips? I usually start them in March/April and if the rains don’t wash them out, I don’t get enough flowers from them. Perhaps more of a certain nutrient? Or maybe they like benign neglect? Some flowers do. Your thoughts?
Hi Susan. Thanks for your lovely comment. I am so glad it cheered up your Monday morning! Yes, I do know the varieties. I have grown all of these Sweet Peas individually rather than buying a mix this year. I always start them off indoors – I have a very specific method which gives me almost 100% germination. I hope you don’t mind if I don’t answer your question fully today… you have given me an idea for a longer post about how to grow Sweet Peas successfully. I will make sure that I answer everything for you in the article published on Wednesday.
Sweet peas must be one of the last charming flowers of all, thank you for the lovely images. I think your selected colour theme works perfectly. I look forward to further information later on the week.
Thanks Kate. It’s good to know that you like my flowers today.
Beautiful. It looks so fresh, like the beginning of summer all over again. Enjoy you sun. It rained here all day!
It has been dry here all day- the rain clouds blew over us and it rained a few miles inland. It’s the luck of the draw with showers at this time of year isn’t it?
The sweet peas are incredibly pretty, Gillian. How I wish my own late summer garden was a floriferous as yours!
Thanks Kris. they are pretty aren’t they. Why do we always want what someone else has I wonder? I was just lusting after your succulents!
What a treat to be able to pick sweet peas at the end of August. This looks so fresh and I’m imagining their delicious scent.
Yes, it is lovely I agree. And then there’s always next year too!
Your bouquet of sweet peas is so pretty and feminine looking with the colours you chose and I can imagine the scent. Jam or mason jars make the best vessels for an informal arrangement, don’t they?
Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday Gillian.
Thanks for your lovely comment and thanks for hosting Mosaic Monday again Judith.
Wonderful sweet peas – (one of) my favourites! 🙂
Gosh, following your comment – profile – google+ page, I found your other blog first… and almost missed this one!
See you soon!
Hi Sara. It is almost impossible for WordPress Bloggers to comment on Blogspot Blogs. Something in the system sends us round and round and deletes our comments. To try and solve the problem I started a blogspot blog so now I can comment but then there’s no link to this blog. Thanks for persevering to find me! You would think that someone would tweak it so we can all get along with each other wouldn’t you?
Oh this is it!!! I have enjoyed seeing Sweet Peas on a few blogs, they were one of my mother’s favorites and at one time we had heirloom seeds, but now long lost. Your images are so lovely and now I just must plant some seeds for next year~
Hi Mary. Thanks very much for visiting my blog and commenting too. I am so happy to have inspired you to grow some Sweet Peas. They are very rewarding.
Oh these colours… exquisite. Your post is lovely and I enjoyed my first time visit very much.
Thanks very much Brenda. I am so glad you found me and pleased that you enjoyed your visit. Please pop in again whenever you like!