I ask you, who isn’t thinking about spring right now? Even the little birds outside my window are singing, yes singing, even though it’s still January and technically spring is still months away. I’m not one of those gardeners that sows buckets of seeds, but I do enjoy a handful of annuals that must be planted every year or summer would not feel like summer. Sweet peas are a necessity. Their delicate beauty and hauntingly ethereal scent make our garden complete. In the early morning, when they smell the sweetest, I like to pluck fresh bundles to place in strategic parts of our home. If you’ve ever read my previous blog, then you know that since I’ve moved from California to Pennsylvania, I’ve struggled with getting my sweet peas to grow as rampantly as they did out west. Last season, I think I finally cracked the code and gave them the type of home they craved because they got so large they outgrew their supports and gave me an abundance of flowers–behaving exactly as they should! The secret? Instead of planting them directly in the ground, I grew them instead in a very large container against the south-facing portion of our home that receives morning sun and afternoon shade. I think that even though sweet peas prefer to not be scalded by blistering heat, they must like their roots to be toasty and the sunlight warming the container was just the ticket. That’s my guess, at least. Do you have any tips for growing sweet peas in your area?
That’s the secret? I’ll have to try it!
?? I’m trying something different this year, actually, because I am using that big container for a rose now. (Of course.) I purchased some dwarf sweet peas and planting in a box type container with attached trellis. We’ll see how that goes…
I just started my sweet pea seeds. We built a new chicken yard and the beau wants “hanging, trellis-y flowers” for the support beams. I haven’t had much success with them in the past so I’ll update my blog when they start.
Also I found some climbing roses at Big Lots of all places! I thought of you and snatched up a New Dawn and Don Juan from Lowes. I also planted some crimson sunflowers. i hope I get the same effect as you. That photo was such an inspiration!
That is so exciting! I’m a little jealous of your chicken yard. 😉 Big Lots for roses? That’s a pleasant surprise! I always like to check there in the spring for containers because they’re so inexpensive, but I will have to keep an eye out for their rose selection. Good luck with your sunflowers, I’m sure they’ll be lovely!