An Affectionate Nod to the Sweet Pea

In every garden a Sweet Pea!

Not many flowers evoke such adoration as a sweet pea. They are relentlessly delightful in every way and every time--and no matter how many times--I smell one and revel in it's ruffly beauty I am enchanted and enthralled. They are stalwarts of the cottage garden...rambling fences and arbors, across garden pathways, and up a neighboring bush if it's obliged to lend it's branches.

My absolute favorite variety featured here is Nimbus. She's just a miracle on a stem. The color is hard to describe, and they always look like they've been painted and splashed with varying shades of burgundy, wine, and a touch of lavender. They are simply stunning!

And not one flower can hold a candle to the fragrance of a sweet pea in the house. It is a natural urge to bring this bloom inside with us so we can snuggle up to it, show it off in a vintage vase, or a mason jar will do too. They last a fairly good amount of time in the vase, but the trick is to keep them in a cool area of the house if possible, and keep them in deep water too. But make sure there is no leaf material below in the water. 

In my newest book, I feature this enchanting flower in the en masse style, where it shines all on it's own and in it's glory wrapped up beautifully in pretty papers, and telling a story in the language of flowers that is so perfect for so many things~ departure, tender memory, good-bye, blissful pleasure, a meeting, weakness, 'thank you for a lovely time', & delicate pleasures.

In addition to sharing how to use sweet peas in your gifts from the garden in floriography, I also share about how to grow a sweet pea, in the simplest, most sure-fire way to grace your garden, or pots on your patio with these timeless flowers that have given us so much delightful pleasure and bring us memories of long ago in grandma's garden.

 "Sweet peas are a longtime favorite of many people. Their ethereal flowers evoke timelessness and memories for many people, and almost everyone’s grandmother grew sweet peas. They imply numerous meanings in the language of flowers, and their dainty, ruffled petals and renowned sweet fragrance become an irresistible ball of love and infatuation when drawn together en masse."

-an excerpt from Modern Floriography - flowers, gardens, & gifts inspired by the language of flowers

Have you gotten your copy of Modern Floriography yet? If not, you can buy it here!