So far, all those that have bloomed are lavender, cream or cream with a tinge of lavender on the edges. I paired them with pale yellow snapdragons (Antirrhinium majus, Rocket variety), Polygala fruticosa 'Petite Butterfly' (also known as Sweet-pea Shrub), and a few tiny stems of Abelia x grandiflora. A back view of the vase shows the Polygala to better advantage.
I left the bouquet in the kitchen and they perfumed half the house within 30 minutes. The 'Perfume Delight' variety of sweet peas I chose is reputed to be especially heat-tolerant as well as intensely fragrant, which is good in that our temperatures are forecast to soar towards 90F (32C) this week. Renee's Garden, which I think was the source of my seeds, says that their mix produces flowers in rose, pale pink, deep purple, white and bi-color. Maybe other colors will appear as the bloom period continues.
This bouquet is my contribution to Cathy's meme at Rambling in the Garden. You can see Cathy's floral creation, also scented, and find links to other gardeners' contributions here.
Yes - definitely fragrant, and I love these 'ice cream' colours as I like to call them. Are these your first sweet peas that you have spared for this vase? I have made an effort with them this year so hope to have some to use in 2 or 3 months time - oh and some antirrhinum too. I don't think I know polygala but it's certainly very pretty, as is the whole vase. How amazing for the perfume to half-fill the house so quickly! Thanks for joining in - lovely to have you!
ReplyDeleteThe good thing about sweet peas is, once they start blooming, they keep on coming. Yes, I cut most of what was in bloom on Sunday evening but there were already many more blooms on Monday. Interestingly, they're still all in the same lavender and cream color range.
DeleteI always forget how pretty snapdragons are. They look lovely with the sweetpeas, what a wonderful colour combination.
ReplyDeleteI love snapdragons too, Chloris, but they're prone to rust here so I don't often grow them, I put this batch in the same raised vegetable planter with the sweet peas, where they're on drip irrigation - my hope is that will prevent the usual rust problem.
DeleteYour arrangement and colour combination looks so soft and elegant Kris!
ReplyDeleteThe sweet smell adds another dimension too!
DeleteI am so jealous of your lovely flowers - if I had planted my sweet peas in October I would still have been lucky to have flowers in June. The freshness and colour combination is lovely - as is the place you took the photographs. I can feel the sunshine in California!
ReplyDeleteThere's certainly a lot of sunshine here, Julie! The temperatures soared to unseasonably warm levels yesterday, which persist today.
DeleteI didn't plant Sweet Peas this past fall..too much moving and digging up going on in the garden..I miss them !
ReplyDeleteI'd forgotten how much I enjoy them, Kathy. I think I'll have to make it a regular practice to plant them, although I'm not sure I want to give over an entire raised bed in my vegetable garden next year so I'll have to find an alternative place to put them.
DeleteI have never been very good at growing sweet peas that are considered one of the easiest plants to grow. I'm interested that there are some that are more tolerant of heat, I must look out for them. You vase is lovely and I can almost smell them, I wish I really could!
ReplyDeleteThe smell is unmistakable, Christina!
DeleteYes - the idea of heat-tolerant sweet peas appeals to me too - must check it out. I have mine planted in the shadiest spot I can find here, under the overhang of our balcony. Yours are lovely - and I particularly like the little polygala. I like the idea of ice-cream flowers! Double Brompton stock would fall in that category too - like your creamy snapdragons and the sweet peas. Good enough to eat.
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