Seven of the Best Sweet Peas
My Top 7 Sweet Peas
Every year at Easton Walled Gardens, we grow over 50 varieties of what we consider to be the best sweet peas available on wigwams, drums and supports.
In amongst the rows of tangled colour and scent, there are varieties that are especially reliable, floriferous and scented. To celebrate our sweet pea week, here is my selection of 7 top performing varieties from amongst those superstars of the best sweet peas to grow.
1.Sweet Pea ‘Duo Salmon’
A darling of a sweet pea; its’ red and pink petals glow in the evening light and there are lots of them! Duo Salmon was bred by Unwins in 2009 and awarded an AGM in 2010, we grow this sweet pea every year. It is always strong and covered in flower.
Trained up canes and plastic netting, Lathyrus odoratus ‘Duo Salmon’, Spencer sweet pea, a climbing annual flowering from June. Photo Credit Nicola Stocken
Particularly suitable for growing on its own for a column of colour. It has a light, pretty scent. If you particularly want a sweet pea that looks great when you come home from work, you could also try Valerie Harrod. They have the same luminosity when the sunlight slants across the garden at dusk.
Close up of Duo Salmon Sweet Pea in the pickery at Easton Walled Gardens
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Sweet Pea ‘Border Beauty’
White sweet peas have a minimalist sophistication without losing the romance of ruffles and scent. They can be difficult to source as the stock tends to deteriorate (usually the flowers are smaller than they should be.) We have found Border Beauty to be the best in its class. While technically it has a blue wire edge this serves to outline the flower and make it stand out. It has a delicious scent and makes a robust plant four flowers on each stem. Definitely a contender for best wedding sweet pea but you could also try Wedding Day.
Definitely a contender for wedding bouquets: Pure White Sweet Peas
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Sweet Pea ‘Almost Black’
The brooding Mr Rochester to modest pale Jane Eyre sweet peas, this really dark sweet pea is very popular with our visitors. ‘Almost Black’ stands out immediately from other grandifloras in the same bed and makes a great contrast in white and blue bunches. Being a grandiflora, the flowers are smaller than some modern sweet peas but it has a great scent.
Lathyrus ‘Almost Black’, heritage sweet pea, climbing annual, flowering from June in the Pickery at Easton Walled Gardens. Photo credit: Nicola Stocken
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Sweet Pea ‘Our Harry’
I love this sweet pea. Even its name sums up the tradition of sweet pea growing in this country. In ‘Our Harry’ you can hear the unpretentious commitment to the allotment or small holding that has created some of our greatest sweet peas. The colour is a beautiful clear blue and we come back to it year after year for its reliability.
Sweet Pea ‘Our Harry’ Spencer Sweet Pea growing up the canes and netting at Easton Walled Gardens
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Sweet Pea ‘Mollie Rilstone’
If you have ever admired the muted pinks and greens on cream found in Colefax and Fowler fabrics you will know why this is such a successful sweet pea. The rose-edged picotee flowers on a cream ground are as beautiful in bud as they are in flower. Mollie Rilstone has a good scent and is highly suitable for cutting. We have grown this sweet pea for over 10 years and it continues to be an excellent choice for a cottage garden or a pink and blue border scheme.
The delicious Mollie Rilstone sweet pea flowering in the pickery at Easton Walled Gardens
6. Sweet Pea ‘Watermelon’
Fairly new to us but now a staple of the semi-grandiflora section of our sweet pea beds. (Actually, Watermelon isn’t a semi-grandiflora but its bushy habit is similar so we include it here.)
A pretty sweet pea for cutting and combining with other colours: Sweet Pea Watermelon at Easton Walled Gardens
The charm of these peachy pink flowers only becomes really apparent when combined with a light blue pea. Try it with Chatsworth, Kingfisher or Albutt Blue, either wrapped around a support in the garden or in a bunch.
Trained within a wire column, Lathyrus odoratus ‘Watermelon’, sweet pea, a climbing annual flowering from June in the vegetable garden. Photo Credit: Nicola Stocken
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Sweet Pea ‘Henry Thomas’
It is the intense red colour of Sweet Pea ‘Henry Thomas’ that draws us back every year. The only other sweet pea we grow in this colour is ‘Winston Churchill’ but he can be remarkably obstinate about germinating.
The richness of the red can be appreciated over a long period which is catalogue-speak for a plant that will give you lots of frilly flowers on strong stems that will need picking regularly. A great choice for arrangements.
Sweet Pea Henry Thomas growing on canes in the Pickery at Easton Walled Gardens
So there you have it, we think these are outstanding in the their colour and class. Let us know on instagram, facebook or twitter what your favourites are – search @ewgardens.
These sweet peas are available as seed throughout the year from our online shop.