| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| MeadowLark |
Posted - Feb 16 2005 : 3:15:53 PM
Are any of you fans of the Sweet Pea? Their fragrance is intoxicating, plus they are my birth month flower... Easy to grow and so beautiful mixed with other flowers. Here is a link to a site that sells all kind of seeds and products connected with the sweet pea...and organic too! Enjoy!
www.sweetpeagardens.com
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Eileen |
Posted - Mar 02 2005 : 09:22:44 AM
The wild sweet pea vines that grow here are a very serious problem. As bad or worse than having blackberry vines and scotch broom where you do not want them. They have no fragrance and the vines are prolific and by summers end if not dug up cover everything up to 20 feet in the air with a tough vine that is extreemly bitter smelling  when you try to pull it out. The roots of this vine are yellow and smell like dying flesh when you try to pull them up. They grow very deep into the tough clay soil and are almost impossible to dig out as you dig and pull the skin comes off leaving the root still in tact underground. The remaining root is then slimy and the matoc or other digging tools just slide off them. They do not even produce very many blooms and I have never seen the birds or anything eating them. What is worse they have a pea pod that children think is a food and end up having to have syrup of ipecac to make them get rid of what they have ingested. As you can tell I am not a fan of this particular wild pea vine. The blossoms are light mauve or pale purple and look just like their friendly and sweet smelling cousins.
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
| MeadowLark |
Posted - Mar 02 2005 : 07:52:43 AM
Clare, Do these sweet peas have fragrance? Some of the perennials do not sadly... here is a link to a perennial sweet pea vine called "Pink Pearl". It also bears white and maroon colors that look pretty.
http://www.gardenguides.com/seedcatalog/flowers/sweetpeapearl.htm
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
| Clare |
Posted - Mar 02 2005 : 06:57:04 AM
Does anyone else have perinneal sweetpeas that have naturalized and just sort of "gone wild"? I have pink ones like that and they are prolific! The blossoms turn white as they age. About late August-mid September they start looking kind of ratty, so I pull them out and they will be back this spring, I'm sure. Don't have a clue what variety they are, but I love them! |
| simpledreamer |
Posted - Mar 02 2005 : 06:52:27 AM
Thanks for the website. I want a trellis of sweet peas soooo bad. I've always heard how wonderful they smell and this is the year I find out!
Smiling,
Marybeth |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Mar 01 2005 : 12:22:26 PM
Did I tell you gals that my pet name for my husband has always been Sweet Pea. He didn't appreciate it years ago but is used to it now. I don't call him that ALL the time, but enough that he answers to it. Ha
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
| bramble |
Posted - Feb 28 2005 : 2:31:54 PM
Jenny-- The dovecote is like you describe it and it has been occupied ever since I got it for Mother's Day about 10 years ago. But not by
doves! These very endearing finches have set up housekeeping every year and I haven't the heart to chase them out! They are funny and mischievous and if I am too noisy gardening under their house they will drop twigs and things on my head and then chatter at me! The company we got it from still advertises in the back of Country Living Gardener I think. If you need more info I can try to locate it for you. As for the doves, they have taken up residence in a very large Chamaecyparis and they are often out cooing to us. Something comforting about the sound of them, we are lucky that they tolerate our very noisy and nosey dog!
with a happy heart |
| MeadowLark |
Posted - Feb 28 2005 : 07:16:16 AM
Bramble, I am curious about your dovecote... It sounds so beautiful. Did you build it? I have seen pictures of them... they look round with a cone shaped roof and the doors for the doves are interspurced around the house with the perches extending from the little holes. We have lots of turtle doves here in warm months and I love them. They nest in the elms around our home and their cooing is lovely. Would love to build a "real" nest for them. Jenny
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Feb 28 2005 : 06:40:38 AM
Loved the website too Robin!
And sweet peas are for sure my alltime favorite flowers. I havn't had the best luck with them here yet..but I won't give up yet! I love when I have a good sweet pea year..the smell and the look of them is just wonderful...I can't wait to plant some this year.
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
| MeadowLark |
Posted - Feb 23 2005 : 6:47:54 PM
Welcome Robin! You have a wonderful website and mission! The Local Harvest Store is very impressive! I too am intersted in sustainable ag and trying my hand as a woman in agriculture. I live on 20 acres in Kansas and raise a little wheat, alfalfa, oats and have an organic vineyard. I also have Dexter cows! 2 heifers, 1 bull and 1 newborn bull calf. Don't you love the gentle Dexter breed? They are like pets and sooo adorable because of their small stature and sweet nature. My heifer just calved this past weekend...wish it had been another heifer. My other heifer "Coco" is due to calve in June. I would love to hear more about your Maine farm! Jenny from Kansas
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
| Kim |
Posted - Feb 23 2005 : 3:52:11 PM
Neat wesite Robin!
farmgirl@heart
Be at peace with yourself and the rest will follow |
| ThymeForEweFarm |
Posted - Feb 23 2005 : 03:20:11 AM
Sweet Pea Gardens is charming. The store is adorable. I didn't get a chance to go last year but it's on my list for early summer this year. Sue is an amazingly accomplished business person.
Robin
Thyme For Ewe Farm
www.thymeforewe.com |
| bramble |
Posted - Feb 17 2005 : 5:08:30 PM
I love sweet peas too! It wouldn't be spring without them, they bloom here about Mid May - June. I have a perrenial sweet pea vine that grows up the post to my dovecote and blooms off and on all summer until frost. My Dad was a great one for finding unusual plants for MY yard and I remember the Easter he brought it right before he got sick. Though not as fragrant as it's cousin it has a special place in my heart! It and my goldflame honeysuckle are the last to stop blooming along with the butterfly bushes around mid - late October when almost nothing else is still in bloom here.
with a happy heart |
| Kim |
Posted - Feb 17 2005 : 4:27:04 PM
That's my favorite flower too. My grandmother had an old iron headboard she used as a trellis.
farmgirl@heart
Be at peace with yourself and the rest will follow |
| Eileen |
Posted - Feb 17 2005 : 2:17:56 PM
I love the sweet pea also and have a special trellis I grow them up every summer. I also love the scarlet runner beans for their flowers. My husband has had them every summer for all of his life and thinks that they are almost prettier than a rose. I am not sure I agree with him on that but I grow them for him as well as my sweet peas for boquets. i also love Nasturtiums for their fragrance. Sort of wierd I know but they smellgood to me and taste good in salads. I have had the leaves of nasturtiums dipped in a tempura batter and fried. Yummy!
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Feb 16 2005 : 3:36:57 PM
Meadowlark - I love, love, love sweet peas! And my sugar snap peas in my veggie garden look much the same when they bloom. Such a delicate flower.
Thank you for the link!
jpbluesky
Love those big blue skies and wide open spaces. |
