On Sun, 05 Jun 2011 20:53:57 +0100, Mike Lyle wrote:

On Sat, 4 Jun 2011 21:19:52 +0100, Warwick
wrote:

On Sat, 04 Jun 2011 11:25:31 +0100, Sacha wrote:

hackety

There are perennial forms of sweet peas which are pretty but not
spectacular.

Right. In the next couple of days I'm taking my camera to Saffron lane
in Leicester where there is a bank of perennial sweet peas that is
absolutely purple with flower and has been flowering like the blazes for
at least 3 weeks.

Warwick

Not being funny, but let's not call them "sweet peas". They're
"everlasting peas", and can be very nice (I've got some pink-purplish
bicolours which appeared by accident from a packet of seed from
Chiltern).

Thread cross

They were pointed out to me by a botanist while I was doing conservation
work (weekly volunteering). Described as Lathyrus Latifolius. Sweet peas
are also in that family (Lathyrus Odorata)... Obviously so are the
vetchlings. She called them perennial sweet peas.

Google gives a very slight edge to Everlasting Pea on the hits over
Perennial Sweet pea, but it matches on various variations of both those
too.

The reason for my fussiness is not pedantry but consumer protection: too
many rogues, thieves, vagabonds, sons of guns, bashibazouks, bandits,
and brigands are selling so-called "sweet peas" which look cute but are
hardly sweet at all. These monsters should not have been allowed into
such a treasured gene pool, and the culprits should be sent to an island
where the only vegetation is horsetail and striped petunias until they
sincerely repent.

Well, they aren't scented, but you can aim them up a tree (quite a long
way)and they are beautiful. I'd not describe them as low maintenance
unless you hem them in with something, but if you have space for them I
don't see the problem. Insects seem to like them too.

I believe that the seed can be a little troublesome to germinate
(moderately difficult, not *really* difficult) and the plant can take a
while to establish.

The fact that they have multiple common names and one is confusing is
further evidence that we need to rely on the proper name.

Warwick