Garden Journal

Garden Journal

Sweet Peas: Nostalgia Blooms in the Modern Garden

Sweet Peas: Nostalgia Blooms in the Modern Garden

When the sweet fragrance of blooming sweet peas fills the air, it's not just the petals that unfurl—it's the memories. For many, the sight and scent of sweet peas evoke a profound sense of nostalgia, harkening back to the gardens tended by our grandmothers. In this journey through time, we exp...
Saving Sweet Pea Seeds

How to Preserve Sweet Pea Seeds: A Comprehensive Guide

In the realm of gardening, few blossoms rival the sweet pea's exquisite allure. With their enchanting fragrance and a plethora of vivid and gentle hues, they have long held a place of honor in the hearts of gardeners. A charming endeavor indeed is the preservation of sweet pea seeds, ensuring ...
Sweet pea seed germinated using the paper towel method

How to Start Sweet Pea Seeds using the Paper Towel Method

Sweet peas are a popular garden plant that are easy to grow and provide beautiful blooms throughout the late spring and summer. If you're interested in growing your own sweet peas, one easy method for starting the seeds is using the paper towel method. Here's how to do it: Gather your materia...
Germinating Sweet Pea Seeds

Help! My Sweet Pea Seeds Sprouted in the Mail (or did they..?)

Every year I receive a handful of emails saying something like this: "Help!  My sweet pea seeds have spouted in the mail and then dried up!" My lovely customers will send along a photo of their seeds that look perfectly fine to me.  Here's what's going on: As sweet pea seeds grow, they are att...

Starting Sweet Pea Seeds in Soil Blocks

In the videos below I show you how to make soil blocks to start your sweet pea seeds in. Soil blocks are a plastic 'pot-less' way to start seeds off all kinds and sweet peas do very well in them. Soil blocks reduce transplant shock as the roots are 'air pruned' (when the root reaches the edge ...
Sweet Pea Books

My Five Favorite Sweet Pea Books

I've put together a selection of my very favorite books about sweet peas. Chosen for their informative content and pretty pictures, I think that any sweet pea grower and gardener will love to take a look through this selection of sweet pea book reviews. "The Sweet Pea Book" by Graham Rice An ...
How To Take Sweet Pea Cuttings

How to Take Sweet Pea Cuttings

Sweet pea cuttings can be taken from young sweet pea seedlings. If you only have a few plants of a variety and want more but have run out of seed, then it is relatively easy to take cuttings and get them to root and grow. You will need some young sweet pea seedlings, jar of water, sharp, clean...
The Best Gloves for Gardening

My Favorite Cold & Wet Weather Gardening Gloves

Autumn is a busy planting time for me and that usually means getting my hands in cold, wet soil. My hands get cold really quickly and it doesn't even have to be that cold for them to start going numb. That makes me miserable and stops me doing what I love doing the most - gardening. I really h...
The Most Fragrant Sweet Peas

Sweet Peas and Fragrance

One of the main reasons I grow sweet peas is for the fragrance. A little bouquet of these beauties really can 'perfume a room'! To some people, the fragrance is the most important aspect of the sweet pea, to others the color must be just right, but most are happy to have a sweet combination of...
5 Simple Steps for Sweet Pea success

5 Simple Steps for Sweet Pea Success

With autumn on its way, my fingers are itching to get seed starting! And what better to get growing than fragrant sweet peas. Autumn is the BEST time to start these enchanting hardy annuals in temperate climates like mine. Starting them early gives them plenty of time to go get growing undergr...