Sweet peas are beautiful vigorous tall plants and climb using tendrils to cling on to their support. Growing sweet peas is easy. To help them along when newly planted I tie them onto their canes with soft green string or little plastic coated loops. Then I leave them to get along with it. Once they are established they haul themselves up the canes or trellis with little intervention from me. Usually all I need to do is pick, pick, pick everyday once flowering begins. Sweet Peas are trouble free plants and usually all is well…
This week some of my well established plants have suffered. We’ve had thunder storms with torrential rain and high speed winds which have snapped the tops off the plants. When I discovered what had happened the flower stalks had already bent double. They were twisting up towards the light. So I cut the damaged stalks back to a healthy undamaged leaf joint. I’m confident that they will recover. Each plant will send out new shoots to replace the damaged stems.
Then I scooped up the bent stalks, flowers and all and popped them into my big heavy (foxglove) vase.
Their stalks may be twisted and imperfect but to me these blooms are still beautiful and what’s more the scent is heavenly.
I’m joining in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden today for her Monday Flowers meme In a Vase on Monday.
If you love country gardens then I hope that you enjoyed this quick peep into my garden. I appreciate your comments and I will try to answer all your questions. Thanks for visiting.
THANK YOU. MERCI. TACK. KIITOS. TAK. DANK U. DANKE. DZIEKUJE. OBRIGADO. GRAZIE. GRACIAS.
Hope to see you again soon. Gillian 🙂
These look great in the interesting vase you selected. The flowers have real personality with their twists and turns. I don’t actually know what sweet peas smell like but they look like they’d smell delightful.
I love sweetpeas but it is too hot and dry to grow them successfully here, so I doubly enjoyed your vase Gillian. Your grey vase is rather fine too; unusual for sweet peas but perfect!
Yes… the vase is generally used for Foxgloves as it needs something tall but it works for these twisted stems which are quite cumbersome.
My very favourite flower. Mine are very behind this year as I planted them out rather late. They are only about a foot tall, but I hope we will have some sun and they will put on a spurt.
I’m sure they will. Sweet Peas are very quick growers. Lets hope we have a nice long summer!
It just goes to show that nothing need be wasted and they look lovely tumbling every which way from your lovely grey vase which makes such a good contrast with the delicate sweet peas.
Thanks Sarah. It’s hard to throw flowers away isn’t it?
Oh I love that vase, Gillian, with or without foxgloves or sweet peas! I like the quirkyness of the bent stems too, and you have used them to great effect here. I think I will cut some of mine back where they have fallen over if you say they will branch out with new shoots. Thanks for sharing.
The vase is not to everyone’s taste but I like it too. As for the damaged Sweet Peas It’s just like pruning really, cut back to a pair of leaves and new shoots will soon appear.
Thanks Gillian – I will do that.
Your storm-tossed sweet peas are beautiful, Gillian. I think the twists and turns give them a dramatic character – and most sweet peas don’t “do” drama.
Thanks Kris.
I love Sweet Peas. I grow mine up wigwams which I’ve draped with netting. That way they’ve got something to scramble up and I don;t have to tie them in
Good tip Gina.
love your s’peas looking forward to some myself this spring, I haven’t grown them for a few years.
They are quick and easy. But I admit that no keen gardener can grow everything they like each year!