Consider-the-Lilies Web Gallery
Perennial Sweet Pea
Every May when the first annual cultivated Sweet Pea begins to thread its way up the strings my wife has put out for them, I think back to another garden many years ago when I was perhaps three or four years old. I recall there were, then and now, lots of butterflies and bees to watch around these delicate, flowering vines, which were brand new to me because we lived in an apartment in the city at that time. And, of course, there was, then and now, the overpowering sweet scent all through the garden.
I still enjoy the the sweet perfume from the hybrid Lathyrus odoratus (loosely translated: sweet-smelling pea). The annual Sweet Pea is indeed a beautiful early garden flower, but it is fragile. To be successful, it demands an environment within a narrow range of conditions: A cool spring, too much or too little rain, and they'll sometimes fail to produce the multitude of pastel blossoms we look forward to seeing and smelling in the garden.
But
the subject of this room, the Perennial or Everlasting Sweet Pea
is not the least bit delicate.
And, although it does not offer as much variety in colors, nor does it produce as many blossoms, the subtle, understated beauty of this perennial wildflower is truly a gorgeous sight.
It will adorn shady areas with its delicate pastel blooms continuously until the first frost.
And it will return next season!
This immigrant from Great Britain was first brought to North America in the late 18th century—Jefferson planted them at Monticello.
As is the case with other colonial garden herbs and flowers, including Chicory, Dames Rocket, Early Yellowrocket, Foxtail Grass, and Viper's Bugloss, this hardy perennial import soon left the confines of the cultivated garden.
Over the past two-centuries it has made itself at home, becoming naturalized in every state but Florida and North Dakota.
Everlasting Sweet Pea produces heavy vines as thick as a pencil. (See red arrow.)
Its broad leaves (latifolius suffix in the botanical name) enable it to effectively serve as a ground cover. Competing weeds and small shrubby growth are simply overwhelmed.
So, although Lathyrus latifolius doesn't spread very readily, a colony will dominate its habitat.
It is commonly found completely filling sunny ditches along roadsides in the Valley.
In the fall the many pea pods produced by each vine have an interesting way of dispersing the ripened seeds.
As you can see the drying pod contracts more along one side than the other, which leaves the dried pods looking like a corkscrew.
We've found that this also makes for an interesting addition to a Christmas wreath!
Perennial Sweet Pea blossoms come in a range of pastel shades, from a very light, almost white, pink to a darker, almost red, pink.
The coloring of these blossoms is typical of those found in the Shenandoah Valley.
These lilies of the field are truly lovely, aren't they? As you consider the short-lived beauty displayed in the Gallery, I invite you to see this bounty as a gift and a promise from the Creator of this beauty. Remember these words of Jesus Christ:
"And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Go to the Main Directory to consider more lilies of the field.