I don't usually sow my sweet peas early and this year I think it was the middle of March - must search for the relevant labels to check. However I am sure that I've have never waited so long for that wonderful first of the year intoxicating intake of their aroma. This year my first sweet pea bloom didn't flower until the first day of July! I have planted two wigwams at home this year rather than in the garden. I have watered them regularly and copiously especially throughout April and May and have been feeding them. They grew well and started reaching for the sky but there was just not any signs of flowers. I started to wonder if I had made a mistake moving sweet pea headquarters from allotment to home where I have grown them for over ten years.
It was only when I commented on one of Karen's posts over at 'The Bramble Garden' which featured some sweet peas and mentioned my woebegone specimens that the penny dropped. Karen mentioned the word mulch in her reply and that was the one thing that I hadn't done. I immediately applied a layer of Strulch around them and that seems to have done the trick even though their lower limbs still remain rather bare of floral adornment. Thank you Karen for that most helpful and timely suggestion. We seem to have more than our fair share of wind this spring combined with a lot of sunny dry days and although I was diligent about watering them the water was obviously not soaking in.
I've not used Strulch before - has anybody else and if so what are your thoughts? So far so good here. As well as the sweet peas I've used it around bean plants, sweet corn and some other newly planted annuals. It is supposed to deter molluscs which it seems to be have done so up to now and it also has a most delightful aroma.
This year's sweet pea mix, which still have to reveal all their colours included 'Matucana', 'Noel Sutton,' 'Erewhon', 'Eclipse' or was it 'Enchante' (again I must find those elusive labels), 'Gwendoline', 'Mollie Rilstone' and 'April In Paris' and a couple others whose names escape me at present. It is not going to be my best year ever for plentiful supplies of sweet peas but at long last there are some most welcome pickings to swoon over.
Thanks also to our hostess Cathy who this week is also sharing her sweet pea bounty over at 'Rambling In The Garden'.
That's a lovely little vase of heavenly perfume. :)
ReplyDeleteI use Strulch beneath my strawberries and I like it. This year I also applied it beneath a few of my hostas - but you’ve been on the blog, so perhaps you’ve seen that they’re now turning into lacework.
We’ve had such a lot of heavy rain over the past few weeks, and I’ve got to admit, this year, my Strulch is looking a bit soggy. That hasn’t happened before, but then the weather hasn’t been as awful in June & July in previous years. That won’t deter me from using it again though.
I am still awaiting our sweet peas. They look rather pathetic this year but I don’t think the mulch will help matters very much.
ReplyDeleteOh this is interesting, Anna - mulch to condserve moisture as well as deter molluscs? Actually, I was going to follow Karens's lead and plant some annuals below my sweet peas, but instead used the space fr some lettuce plugs from Aldi I managed to get early on in lockdown. I am pleased you have finally got blooms on yours, and it's not as if March is especially late to be sowing them - mine were a week or two into Feb, I think. It's a ovely litt;le posy and I am sure the fragrance is gicing your great pleasure. What do you think of the fragrance of April in Paris? Brian our dahlia friend spoke very highly of it.
ReplyDeleteHmm. Although sweet peas are planted on an entirely different schedule here (usually in September for blooms in late winter), mine were very uncooperative about blooming this year too. They also didn't bloom well, partly because they got hit by early heatwaves. I'll try the mulch trick next time. Sweet peas in summer seem a miracle to me and yours are lovely.
ReplyDeletethat very fine purple edge is lovely. April in Paris is a tempting name. I have never tried growing sweetpeas but they do smell delicious!
ReplyDeleteGlad you have had more success with your sweet peas this year Anna. Intried once, failed abysmally and have never bothered since, but it seems I don‘t know what I am missing as everyone else seems to love them!
ReplyDeleteThey are sweet indeed, and your have captured that wonderful rich texture of the petals. Close to home growing...you can pop out at the break of dawn, or whenever you wake, and pop out to admire their beauty.
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