In the beginning
Joan writes: Sweet Peas are one of my favourite summer annual plants. My granny grew them by the zillions and the fact that I was allowed to pick as many as I wanted (the more you harvest, the more they flower), enthused me even more.
Climbing up most anything that they can get their tendril hold onto, they are a welcome cheery and (nice) smelling addition to an outdoor space.
Sweet peas can be sown in Autumn to get a head start the following Spring or directly outdoors late Spring. I feel it is still far too early for me to be doing that here in a dreach, rather cold inland Ayrshire, so I’ve opted to sow them in seed trays, germinate them indoors then gradually introduce them to life outdoors. Ne’er cast a cloot, and so on. Which has just made me think. Life for us is very different at the moment. As far as I can tell, Mother Nature is oblivious to covid-19, and she’s getting on with business as usual.
Looking for a silver lining, our local recycling service has been scuppered temporarily due to covid-19 which fortunately has left me with a glut of suitable containers to sow the sweet peas into. Sweet Peas like a good depth to establish their roots into – I’m impressed by my colourful collection!
Please share with us any of your childhood and gardening memories. I’ll leave you with my home grown video of The (aging) Princess sowing the Pea 🙂 Happy Gardening. Joan.
My friend’s sweet pea seeds have been eaten by mice in her greenhouse- I’m keeping an eye on mine to see if they fair better! We’re growing them for our allotment-based fledgling community interest company, although sadly we can’t run any sessions just now of course. Looking forward to seeing everyone down there again soon!
Hello! Fingers crossed for a speedy return to group gardening 😊
My grandad used to dip his pea and sweetpea seeds into paraffin just before sowing. He reckoned the mice didnt like the taste. I do this now. Im 58! It works.Comment
Hello! Thanks for sharing this! It’s lovely to hear of tales and tips passed down from seasoned gardeners. Joan
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Hello there ☺ Your little film is great, thankyou! I’m in sunny Aberdeen but there’s still a cold wind, so am sowing my Sweet Peas today in containers on my windowsill too. Soaked them in water last night, I’ve read that they like that!, and am trying gardening and planting by the moon too, accordingly today is supposed to be the best day for flower and seed planting?! I’ll see how that goes! Good luck everyone and Happy Planting…..
Happy Flower and Seed Planting day to you! 😊
Childhood gardening memories: In Edinburgh, the bottom of the garden was wild with trees and shrubs and places to get lost in dens for hours.
In the middle of the lawn was a 4 square bed with stone paths full of neglected roses. My mum transplanted them all out to the edge beds and planted food there instead. One square was rhubarb, the others broccoli and tatties.
Just outside the patio doors leading into the garden was a rockery with wild rose bushes. One year a stray cat raised her kittens in there, and we all got scratched as much by the roses as by the kittens. I had my first garden in this garden too, inside an old car tyre…I must have been about 4!
Happy memories!
😊
You have inspired me to give this a go.. Brings back childhood memories.
Loving all the video tips.
Hi Lorna. Thank you. Do let us know what you get up to! 😀
Joan, this is so practical and helpful!thank you. And can i ask where you got the watering gizmo you put on the bottle top to water the seedlings? You were asking childhood memories of gardening, as a five or six year old i remember planting a packet of Love in a Mist in a tiny patch of my parents garden, and that memory was brought back reading Good Housekeeping this mornnig, which is full of tales of women gardeners like tvs Rachel de tame and the RHS Sue Biggs who remembers being given seeds by her mum aged 7 and watching the flowers “pop up like amazing little jewels! that magic feeling is still there…
Hi Carol. Thank you! Have a look on http://www.garden-innovations.co.uk for the bottle top waterers. Love in a Mist – I hope you go out and sow some this month and keep the magic growing! 😊