If Only I Could Bottle the Fragrance.....

My sweet peas are finally blooming!!! Yeah!!! The seeds were planted in January and until about a month ago, the plants were just creeping up their little homemade trellis. But now, they are bursting open with the most beautiful fragrance in the world. I cannot even describe it. Sometimes I just stand and inhale the absolutely intoxicating smell for minutes at a time.

The first buds appeared about ten days ago, and I've been watching and waiting excitedly for these precious things to open.

These seeds have been planted for so long, that when they first came up I was just thrilled to know that they had germinated, but now just look at them!!!

If it will just stay fairly cool at night for a few more weeks, I am hopeful that these gorgeous vines will really continue to put forth.  I would love to pick them, but I just enjoy seeing them on their little vines so much that I hate to. Picking should encourage more blossoms, at least it does on most plants, but I'm not sure about the sweet pea.

Did you know that there are over 250 varieties of sweet peas?  Apparently the sweet pea was all the 'rage' in Edwardian England of the late 1800's, even though they were originally grown in the fields of Sicily.  Sweet peas are associated with delicate and blissful pleasure (no doubt from the fragrance), adieu, and 'thank you for a lovely time.'

Ever heard of Gregor Mendel?  Also known as the father of genetics, he performed extensive genetic studies with these flowers, due to the fact that they self-pollinate. This makes it easy to track such characteristics as height, color, and petal form.  Seems like I remember studying about this in biology class many years ago.

Each morning I check to see what's new on the vine, so don't be surprised to see the occasional photo of a new sweet pea from time to time!

It's Getting Crowded in Here!

When I planted the alyssum in my strawberry jars, I naturally assumed that the bitter cold of January had killed the strawberry plants that had dried up and virtually disappeared.  So I had the brilliant idea of planting cascading sweet pea seeds in the jars to go along with the alyssum.

Well, all three are fat and happy together in the jars, and although there are no buds yet on the little sweet peas, they are growing among the strawberries and alyssum.  Now if I can just get one bloom before it gets too hot!

The alyssum had me worried when I first planted them; their little root systems practically came right out of the dirt when I transplanted to the strawberry jars.  Thank goodness for the nice cool spring, because they have really been a welcome sight right outside my back door.

Grow, Baby, Grow!!!

A little blurred, but some sweet peas who are determined to grow. These seeds had been soaking inside for at least a week before the horrible cold weather, so I didn't put them out until Sunday. Somehow the dirt around them became displaced so after taking these pictures I pushed the seeds back into the soil.  When I planted them I wasn't hopeful that they would grow at all; they had already sprouted and were so pale as to be almost transluscent. Time will tell as to how many will actually grow.  I will get some more seeds and keep trying.  Next to pansies, sweet peas are my favorites. Their fragrance is indescribable!