How to Grow and Care For Sweet Pea Flowers Lathryrus odoratus
A child in a beloved cartoon strip. A mother’s tender nickname for a tiny baby. A character on a TV show popular with young adults.
Sweet peas one and all. All named for the lovely vining annual whose legendary beauty makes us desire to apply its nomenclature to those dearest to us.
Let’s start with the flowers. A delicate, slightly folded petal that resembles a butterfly’s wings surrounds smaller petals that also flutter gracefully in the breeze.
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And the colors! Dark pink, light pink, medium pink; lavender, violet, deep purple, red, yellow, white, blue – Mother Nature has been generous to us with her palette of sweet pea flower hues.
She’s painted these blooms variously, with solid colors, in a bicolor fashion, or with streaks or other mottled designs.
And as if that weren’t enough – the fragrance! A blend of honey and orange, some say, while others detect a note of rose. It’s simply the scent of sweet pea, and while it may vary from cultivar to cultivar, it’s nearly always captivating.
The delicate stems and curling tendrils of L. odoratus add to its allure. It’s considered a desirable cut flower, and is often used in arrangements.
Let’s get to know this eponymic plant.
An important note before we get too far: Sweet peas are poisonous to our canine friends. So you might want to avoid planting these where Rover is tempted to snack.
What Are Sweet Pea Flowers?
The sweet pea flower (Lathyrus odoratus) is an annual climbing plant that is in the genus Lathyrus, a member of the Fabaceae, or legume family.
It is native to the Mediterranean including southern
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