Lathyrus odoratus grandiflora Alan Titchmarsh - Sweet pea

The Sweet Pea or Lathyrus odoratus 'Alan Titchmarsh' is an old variety, dating back to 1986, with a beautiful colour. It produces large, undulating flowers in a pale, diaphanous pink, frosted with cream, slightly fragrant. This climbing annual plant is also characterized by its rapid growth and vigour, allowing it to cover beautiful surfaces on the ground or vertically. It will cascade in romantic garlands from hanging baskets. It should be grown in fertile and moist soil, in the sun.

The Lathyrus odoratus is an annual herbaceous plant in the legume family, native to southeastern Italy and Sicily. Climbing thanks to tendrils, the 'Alan Titchmarsh' variety can reach a height of 1.80m (6ft) and a width of 30cm (12in) in just a few months. Its leaves are arranged in pairs on quadrangular stems, with stipules at the base and extended into tendrils. They are light green. Flowering occurs from June to August. The papilionaceous flowers are large, grouped in axillary clusters of up to 5 pastel flowers, with highly undulated petals. They are composed of 5 petals, with the uppermost, which is also the largest, taking the form of a standard, while the others have an intermediate shape between the lip and the tube. They emit a delicate but light fragrance, with a sweet floral aroma with hints of honey and musk, very feminine. The fruit is a flat pod that twists and expels its seeds at a distance. It is essential to remove faded flowers, as seed production immediately stops flowering. Sweet peas root deeply in the soil to extract water and nutrients.

Sweet peas are irreplaceable; their touching and old-fashioned flowering brings a lot of charm to bouquets, hanging baskets, and any support they bravely colonize in one season. They are just as charming in summer borders, using neighbouring plants or bushes as support. They can also create beautiful carpets by mixing colours. They are inseparable from cottage gardens, like peonies, hollyhocks, foxgloves, peach-leaved bellflowers, and columbines. They also thrive in the fertile and well-watered soil of the vegetable garden, where they provide a good supply of cut flowers.