Plant Lovin’ -Sweet Pea

I always seem to be choosing plants for my Plant Lovin’ series that have I a bit of an emotional connection to.  These plants provide great memories, or remind me of special people.  The Sweet Pea is definitely one of those plants.  My Nanna Bet had the most fantastic vegetable garden, and Sweet Peas always featured.  She had a fabulous trellis that they snaked across and hung over.  I remember going home with bunches of Sweet Peas on so many occasions.  It was also one of the flowers used in the bouquets at our wedding, it was a perfect softener for the red roses that matched the Bridesmaids dresses.

It is a plant that I have been wanting to try out for a while, but didn’t think would work too well on our old balcony, and then I missed the season last year.  So this year, the Drama Queen and I have some little baby Sweet Peas getting ready to hit the garden.  Hopefully they like us and give us bunches of their sweet smelling flowers!

So here’s the Snow Pea low down…

Name: Lathyrus odoratus

Description: The Sweet Pea is a flowering annual that grows to 1.5-2m tall with the aid of a trellis or frame.  The sweet smelling flowers are the main feature of the plant, but I’m also fond of the delicate looking tendrils that are used to grip.  Flowers range from white through to pink, red and purple.

What you’ll love about them: The flowers, the flowers, the flowers!  As they are a climber, and grow to about 2m high they are perfect for screening a fence or covering a lattice or garden screen.  As they are winter growing, they will fill in the winter bare patches in your garden.  They will grow easily from seed.  Let’s face it, if we can germinate them, I think anybody can!

What they love:  Sweet Peas love the sun, they need at least six hours a day to keep them happy.  A well drained soil, and a lattice or trellis to grow on.  As they are annuals you will need to rip them out and replace them each year.  In Sydney they are a seed that is best sown in Autumn, so they don’t like it too hot.  Check in your part of the world for what time of year would suit them best.

The not so great bits:  Sweet Pea is an annual plant, so will not last past one season.  It’s not a long term garden solution, but a fun splash of colour from year to year.  It will need a bit of work to get them started and then to rip them out again at the end of the season, but if it fits in with your vegetable garden rotation there’s not problem!

If you prefer something a bit more home grown: There are no native Sweet Peas, and nothing that I can think of that is an Annual, so there isn’t anything that you can directly substitute, but if it’s the vine you are looking for you could try a Hardenbergia violacae, it is fairly hardy and vigorous and has purple pea shaped flowers.

Off to water our sweet pea babies and design them a trellis!

Sam

Plant Lovin’ – Passionfruit

This is a plant that I have wanted in my garden for as long as I can remember.  Not only does it  provide you with a yummy harvest of fruit, it also has some of the most spectacular flowers I have ever seen.  Passionfruit grows as a vine, and has so many endearing features.  The leaves are green and glossy, it is hardy, I love the spiral tendrils it uses to cling onto things, and the fruit and flowers are unbelievable.

I have great memories of the passionfruit vine we had trailing over our fence in the terrace house I grew up in.  There was the excitement at seeing the flowers bloom and then the intolerable wait as the fruit grew and then turned from green to purple.  The fruit always tasted better when you had picked it yourself, as opposed to the store bought variety.

Passionfruit not only provides you with a great climbing vine that will cover an ugly wall or fence, but it will provide you with a key ingredient for my summertime desert of choice, the ever Australian Pavlova.

The spectacular passionfruit flower photograph from http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/gardening/prettiest-vine-ever-passion-fruit-054643

So here’s the Passionfruit low down…

Name: Passiflora edulis – There are a heap of different varieties so check out what’s available at your local nursery to find the one that’s right for you.

Description: A vigorous and fast growing vine that loves to climb on any sturdy structure.  You’ll need to provide it with a fence, wall or lattice to let it develop to it’s full potential.  The vine has large glossy green leaves and delicate spiral tendrils that help it climb.  The flowers produced by the passionfruit vine are spectacular and would probably be the best thing about this plant if it weren’t for the fact they are followed by a yummy harvest of delicious passionfruit.

Passionfruit leaves and fruit. Photo from http://www.infonet-biovision.org

What you’ll love about them: The fruit, the flowers, the fact that the vine can and will cover whatever you want it to.  There is so much to love about the passionfruit.  Passionfruit vines are really easy to take care of and will continually give back more than you give them.

If you’re in the right location and you give them plenty of water and food, you should see a harvest of fruit within the first 18 months, and then regularly after that.  This is one of those “memory” kind of plants.  Everyone that I know who had a Passionfruit vine when they were growing up remembers it fondly.  Great for kids, great for cooks, and great for the lazy gardener – maximum impact with minimum effort!

Yum - Passionfruit! Photo from http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/living/homeandgarden/835722/a-passion-for-passionfruit

What they love:  Passionfruit loves the sun.  Plant it in a sunny position, give it’s roots free-draining soil, some food and plenty of water and it will reward you with loads of it’s yummy fruit.  You will need to provide a structure like a fence, wall or trellis for it to climb on, and good well drained soil with plenty of organic matter.  They love plenty to drink, so keep the water up, and in terms of food, don’t feed them with too much nitrogen, compost and chook manure are perfect.

Ongoing maintenance is easy, they like a trim every spring, so as winter turns into spring, trim off around 30cm.  When they are young prune off the top of the vine (the leader) and this will help make the vine spread laterally and cover whatever ugly garden feature you want hidden.

The not so great bits:  The vine is vigorous and can get away from you, though this could also be a good thing if you want something screened well.  Passionfruit is only relatively short lived – 5-7 years, so you will need to replace it fairly regularly, though it is fast growing so it won’t take long to replace itself.

If you prefer something a bit more home grown: There are no native Passionfruits, so there isn’t anything that you can directly substitute, but if it’s the vine you are looking for you could try a Pandorea sp. it is fairly hardy and vigorous and has lovely flowers.

Yum! Passionfruit and Pavlova! Photo from http://paulineadamek.com/pages/CookbookPage.html

Anyone feel like a slice of Pav???

Sam