New Sweet Peas....

               All of a sudden things are growing. Everything is new again.

            And it's green. Green. Green. Dirt  loamy and soft and warm.
"The year's at the spring and the day's at the morn; God's in his heaven, all's right with the world. " (from Robert Browning's "Nature")

 The Sweet Peas (Lathryus odoratus) (what a great name they have!) seeds  have started shooting. Everywhere. Not summer without sweet peas. Hope they bloom. Some years they're fussy and won't do much.  Some years there are so many I can't pick them fast enough. Sometimes they are just green leaves and never go to pods. Sometimes they make so many pods and I can't collect the seeds fast enough for next year....

 The greenhouse is full. Ready to pop. And the sweet peas  are like little soldiers . Marching down the hill in uneven rows. One day it was just dirt. A place for the neighbourhood cats to roll.  These  have a royal background.....
 
  At the  turn of the 20th century a new type of sweet pea was discovered by Silas Cole, main gardener for the Earl of Spencer at Althorp.  The home of the future Princess of Wales, Diana Spencer.

     Sweet peas have such an old heritage. The traditional flower for remembrance. One of the first varieties of "lathryus odoratus" was the "Countess Spencer" at the first show of the National Sweet Pea Society in 1901.

 So, while the sweet peas start  to unearth themselves,  time to get  flats hardened by moving them to the porch.

            And  I think I don't have enough flowers for the pots.  Plenty of places to pick up flats. Cheap. Just have to scout around a bit. And wait for the Spencer sweet peas to  start climbing  the cages. And wonder what the cats are thinking......