The design team at Spruce Flowers are delighted to present their "Spring is in the Air" installation at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. This years theme at the show is enchanted gardens, with this in mind the Spruce team are creating a soaring installation of Sweet Peas. Using an ombre of blooms to create a multi sensory delight.
Background to the project.
The feature flower in the instalation is Lathyrus odoratus, Sweet Pea.
Sweet Peas, also called "painted ladies" or "flower crayons" because of their wide spectrum of colors, are cherished "spring fairies" admired globally for their highly fragrant and gracefully wavy petals. They symbolize "setting off," "departure," and "tender memories," among other things. The frilly, delicate petals are reminiscent of butterflies in flight, hence their name.
Sweet Pea Origin - Sicily, Italy.
The wild species of Sweet Peas have small flowers that are sky-blue purple they were discovered at the end of the 17th century, and were bred in England throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. The number of flower colors increased, and the petals became larger, making it an indispensable and popular spring flower for celebrations, and it was even chosen as the ceremonial flower for coronations at the British Royal Palace. They were introduced to Japan at the end of the Edo period early to mid 1800’s.
Its Japanese name is Jakourenrisou (Musk Flower).
Cultivation
Sweet peas are beautiful, fragrant flowers, but they can be a bit finicky. They prefer well-drained soil and dislike waterlogged conditions. While they need plenty of sunlight to thrive, they can be prone to bud drop if they don't receive enough. Cooler temperatures are ideal for sweet peas, as they struggle in the heat. Being legumes, they are vigorous growers. To successfully cultivate them, amend the soil with compost or manure, provide a support structure like a trellis, water regularly (especially during dry periods), fertilize every few weeks, pinch back young plants to promote branching, and deadhead spent flowers to encourage more blooms. Sweet peas planted in September will grow to about 5 meters by April of the following year! Note all parts of sweet peas are poisonous if ingested, never plant sweet peas with edible peas to prevent confusion.