Sweet Pea (Delicate Pleasures)"Here are sweet peas,on tip-toe for a flight
With wings of gentle flusho'er delicate white,
And taper fingers catchingat all things
To bind them all aboutwith tiny rings." Keats
Sweet peas arrived in Britain via a Sicilian monk who sent seeds to a Middlesex schoolmaster. This gave rise to countless other forms. The biggest relatively recent development came at the turn of the last century when unusually large, frilly flowers appeared suddenly in several parts of the country on 'Prima Donna'. Seed was saved and sold as new varieties.
'Countess Spencer', found in the garden of Earl Spencer at Althorp, Northamptonshire, was the best. It gave rise to the variably scented Spencer type which now has a huge range of varieties, with new ones being launched each year.
In the language of flowers Sweet Pea means: Departure, Blissful pleasure, Thanks for a lovely time
UK's National Sweet Pea Society will tell you more than you knew you needed to know about the lovely little garden flower. Do pay attenion to which hemisphere you are in when taking advice from online sites.
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