Sweet pea – Red, the scent of an English summer
Lathyrus odoratus has been grown in British gardens since the seventeenth century, and the red varieties are the ones people remember. The petals are thin as tissue and gently ruffled, the colour runs from deep crimson to a warm scarlet, and the scent is strong enough that a single small bunch is enough for a whole room.
Sweet peas are cut flowers with short stems, so they belong in a jug, a tumbler or a small vase rather than a tall arrangement. A bunch of red on its own is the classic; a few stems among white or pale pink softens the depth of the colour.
Season and vase life
The season runs from early summer into early autumn, and the flowers are at their best cut in the morning. Expect around five days in the vase – less than most cut flowers, which is the price of the scent. Cool water, a cool position away from fruit, and a fresh cut every couple of days will get the most out of them.
The more you pick, the more you get
Sweet peas are annual climbers, and picking them is what keeps them flowering: every stem cut before it sets seed pushes the plant to produce another. Gardeners cut them daily for that reason, which is also why they so often arrive as a gift from someone with a garden.
A gift with a scent attached
Red sweet peas suit a summer birthday, a thank you or a quiet romantic gesture, and they are a kinder choice than a formal bouquet when the room is small. One word of caution: the seeds and pods are toxic, so keep them out of reach of pets and small children.
