Whilst relaxing with a book I studied my garden, my book was slowly losing its appeal! I realised how bare my garden not only looked, but felt. It is strange to say that your garden has a feeling, but it certainly does. My garden didn’t encourage growth, innovation or adventure but plain, safe and to put it simply dull! I was recommended sowing sweet peas due to their glorious blooms and enticing scent but being a total beginner gardener I was a little lost… lying i was really lost, and I knew nothing about sowing or transplanting them or any other plant. So I turned to the internet, and it is safe to say what I found was of no use at all. Either written in gardening jargon, or simply poorly explained, I was even more confused than I was before.
Where do you start? As a beginner gardener myself I would certainly be asking this question, however with the help and guidance from the Thompson & Morgan experts; sowing, pinching, transplanting and maintaining sweet peas has never been easier. I pin pointed exactly what i needed and I wanted to share with you some helpful guides and products to get you on your way too. If you are like me and prefer to learn by visual and audio methods, here is a short video for you on how to grow sweet peas.
Now I have come to learn that sowing sweet peas couldn’t be easier. You can sow them into small pots of compost in autumn and overwinter the young plants in a cold frame or cool greenhouse. I wait until spring and plant my sweet peas in pots, or sow directly into the ground. For more detailed information on how to pinch, transplant and prune your sweet peas view Thompson & Morgans full guide.
To transplant your sweet pea I would wait until they are growing well until you pop them outside to acclimatise them for at least a week prior to planting. Find a sunny spot in your garden and enrich the soil by digging in some compost to hold in the moisture. I always place a plant support frame into position prior to planting the sweet peas. Turn each pot out and gently separate the plants. You can plant 2 or 3 seedlings in each planting hole.
Sweet Peas are the must have garden classic and with varieties suiting many requirements you are bound to find your perfect match. I found that Annual Sweet Peas are often beautifully fragrant but they last only one season, while Everlasting Sweet Peas are herbaceous perennials returning year after year but with less fragrance than their annual cousins.
Why not have a go, using the guide for any advice throughout planting process. Please let me know how it goes I would love to see if your gardens are more inspiring than mine !
Terri works in the e-commerce marketing department assisting the busy web team. Terri manages our blog and social media pages here at Thompson & Morgan and is dedicated to providing useful advice to our gardeners. Terri is new to gardening and keen to develop her horticultural knowledge.