Sweet peas are hanging on in there

Every year since we moved to Cumbria I have grown sweet peas .... around 250 plants on a row of canes in front of the cottage.

When I lived in Sussex an older lady friend of mine used to grow them in her garden in Hassocks at the foot of the Downs and she taught me everything I know about these gorgeously fragrant flowers. Now semi-retired I have more time and more space to grow them in our garden here in Lakeland.

I sow the seeds in October and grow them on in the greenhouse house. Meantime I dig the garden over with manure from the livery yard nearby and this is well rotted into the ground by the time I get to plant them out, usually about April time.

The first flowers start to come through around June time. The more you pick the more you get. It always give me great pleasure to give away bunches of these beautiful fragrant flowers to friends and neighbours.

They've been good this year but sadly they are just beginning to turn