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SWEET PEAS
Lathyrus odoratus
LADY GRISEL HAMILTON
Lathyrus odoratus
“Do I imagine or is it fact that lavender and
mauve and purple Sweet Peas have the sweetest
fragrance? There is an old variety called
Lady Grisel Hamilton that is delightful.” writes
L.B. Wilder in The Fragrant Path. Bred in 1899.
$3.00
A flower with a mystique exhaulted to almost
angelic proportions is the heavenly sweet pea.
The gardener’s love affair with the Sweet Pea
goes back to 1699 to the cool, mountainous pastures
of Sicily where it was ‘discovered’ by an
Italian monk. Seed was sent to a Dr. Uvedale, a
gardener and physician in England who grew it
under glass. Its heady fragrance made it most
desirable and after the development of several
new colours and an increase in bloom size, it
was much sought after cut flower gracing the
finest of tables. In the language of flowers, the
sweet pea means adieu or departure.
Fanciers adore its intoxicating perfume, its colour and its generosity
as a cut flower (but disagree on cultivation methods!). We soak the
seeds, sow them directly in fertile soil in early spring 2.5 cm deep,
pinch back when 15 cm high and provide netting or strings for them
to climb up. Mulch to keep roots cool. Cut bouquets often to prevent
seeds from forming. “Keep on cutting, keep on flowering” said J.S.
Eckford, the son of Henry Eckford, the great Victorian sweet pea grower.
A nursery catalogue from 1907 shows 461 varieties
trialed at the Royal Seed Establishment in
Reading, England. These exquisite and highly
fragrant varieties from yesteryear are slowly
making a comeback and we at Florabunda are
delighted to offer the following twelve choices.
$3.00
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