Sturt desert peas

An unexpected gift. The mugs are part of the ‘Floral Emblems of Australia’ collection from the Sydney Botanic Garden.
 
Sturt desert peas are a gorgeous flower. They surprise you with splashes of vivid scarlet and glossy black, growing in the most inhospitable outback locations. (The colours on the mugs are too subdued.)
 
When we celebrated our Civil Union in 2009, MountGrace’s cousin D, who was a wonderful cake maker and decorator, made our cake. When she asked what flowers we would like to decorate it, we naturally nominated Sturt desert peas, which are our favourite flowers and so evocative of the outback. D was a little taken aback. ‘You wouldn’t consider roses?’ she suggested. Then with the help of google she produced the most perfect Sturt desert peas in brilliant scarlet icing (extra).