The very last year I gardened in Floral Park, I grew sweet peas. I grew them near the backyard faucets in a tiny patch of earth. They climbed up and onto the thick black telephone wire, hanging upside down in curtains of pink and white as they marched like tiny acrobats across the wire to the garage. I love their old-fashioned fragrance and Victorian charm but have had the worst luck trying to get them to grow in my Virginia garden. I had the bright idea to grow them next to the arched trellis that marks the entrance to the flower garden next to the driveway. My morning glories reseed the spot every year, so my bright idea was that the sweet peas would flower in the cool spring weather followed by morning glories in June. I think the spot is too hot for them, for last year they grew just about 10 inches before turning yellow. I also think Mosaic virus strikes them in that spots. This year, I am hoping to grow them along the fence that marks the vegetable garden. When we sit at the kitchen table we look right at the vegetable garden, so I might as well make it pretty!
Please enjoy my latest article on growing sweet peas. I hope you too have the sweetly scented curtain of flowers like I had growing in my garden in Floral Park.
Growing Sweet Peas - article
4 comments:
I'm hoping to grow some in a container this year providing a teepee of bamboo poles for them to climb. I hope they like it there becase last year, not one sprouted in my new bed.
I have tried Sweetpeas twice with no luck! I think the spots I chose are not sunny enough plus too far for the water to reach when hooked to the sprinkler. I need to find a sunny spot for them and closer to the house. We had a row of them growing along side our driveway when I was a kid. I loved the sweetpeas and so did the bees!
Did you plant your sweet peas last fall the way your article suggests? I failed to plant mine, for the first time in years. I'll miss them.
Thanks Skeeter, Nell Jeanne & Sherlock Street for your comments. I did not plant my sweet peas in the fall; I only found that bit of advice now when I was researching the article. It's interesting to me that most of the southern gardeners I talk to have trouble growing sweet peas. I'm going to try them in a location at the back of the house that gets afternoon shade. I'm hoping that little bit of a break in the heat will help them. Share your success with sweet peas with us here!
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