Sweet peas add a pop of colour to any garden – and Monty Don has reminded gardeners of the best time to begin growing them
As the days begin to brighten and the temperature warms up (just a little bit), many of us are venturing back out into our gardens again. The great news is that this is the best time of year to start planting many different types of plants, including beautiful flowers like sweet peas.
Growing your own plants comes with a myriad of benefits, particularly for families, it can be a great way to bond outdoors. Kids will love getting their hands mucky as they help plant seeds – and you can soak up some much-needed vitamin D. It involves a little muscle work too, which means it can also count towards your daily exercise.
Plus, they also add a lot of colour and charm to your garden, as they come in a wide array of different colours, including white, blue, red, violet and coral. Since they are small, they can also be grown indoors, ideal for those living in apartments or in homes without a garden.
If you’re new to gardening and you’re wondering what kind of flowers to start with, a great beginner plant can be sweet peas. Seeing as they can be grown in small pots from seeds, they’re perfect for those who don’t have a ton of space to work with. They are also well adapted to the UK climate, as they thrive best in moisture-retentive soil.
Convinced? Expert gardener and BBC presenter Monty Don advises April is the best time to begin sewing the seeds. He writes in his blog : “The time to plant out sweet peas into the garden is mid April in the south and towards the end of the month further north. Sweet peas grow best in rich soil with plenty of moisture and in cool – but not cold – conditions, so the more you can enrich the soil with lots of compost or manure before planting, the better they will grow. I like to grow mine up bean sticks arranged as a wigwam but any support will do from bamboo canes to chicken wire.”
Although, he warns not to become too overzealous with planting the seeds. To ensure you grow strong, healthy plants and to avoid rationing resources, he recommends that if you buy a pot with a lot of seeds to instead “divide each pot into two or three.” He continues: “plant these sections at the base of each support so they have less competition and you should end up with more flowers.”
