Sweet pea is a favorite garden flower that belongs to the same family as the kind of pea that we eat. People grow the sweet pea for the beauty and fragrance of its flowers. The sweet pea has traditionally been considered one of the flowers of the month of April. Sweet pea flowers are blue, red, pink, purple, and white. Some look like butterflies. There are more than 1,000 varieties of sweet pea. In some, the flower petals are smooth and velvety. In others, they are crinkled and wavy. The plants may be dwarf, which grow close to the ground, or climbing, which grow along strings or trellises.
Rich, well-drained soil, plenty of sunshine, and free circulation of air are needed to raise sweet peas. Gardeners should sow the seed in early spring. They use 1 ounce (28 grams) of seed to 30 feet (9 meters) of row. The plants should be at least 2 inches (5 centimeters) apart in the row, and the rows should be 4 feet (1.2 meters) apart. As soon as the plants appear above ground, the gardener should cultivate the ground. The soil should be stirred lightly every week and should be kept free of weeds. Once a week, the plants should be given a liquid fertilizer.
The vines should be trained on strings. The flowers should be picked as they open, before seeds develop. The sweet pea stops blooming soon after seeds form.
See also: Pea .
