Sweet peas: One whiff, and — aaah — it's summer

If you're carrying a bouquet of old-fashioned sweet peas, you're bound to be greeted with smiles. The fragrance transports many to sunny afternoons. And like the scent of lilacs, the smell of sweet peas can't be duplicated by chemistry, so you won't find it in a can.

Happily for us in the maritime Northwest, sweet peas enjoy our cool summers. Most of us don't have air-conditioning, and warnings you may read of protecting sweet peas from summer heat aren't usually needed here. So planting them in April and May will give you bounties of flowers right through September. They can, of course, be planted earlier, as early as February. Look for seed packets that say "fragrant." Scent and sweet peas go together in our minds but aren't always together in plants, which have been bred for size and ruffles. One of the sweetest is one of the oldest: 'Cupani' or 'Cupani's Original,' named for the Italian priest who first found the plants about 1699. The flowers are light and dark purple and small but, oh, the fragrance!

I plant these with other varieties to make the most deliciously scented bouquets. I've even tucked them into containers and trained them up bamboo to create an irresistible patio corner.

It's a hybrid world

Today you'll find sweet peas that grow as short as 10 inches ('Heirloom Cupid' from Renee's Garden. Renee Shepherd's Web site has everything about sweet peas but the scent: www.reneesgarden.com). My favorites for containers are the type called 'dwarf,' which grow to about 3 feet. You can let them tumble or set up bamboo stakes for them. Another dwarf, with the somewhat unfortunate name 'Snoopea,' is readily available. Check nursery seed racks now.

If starting them from seeds, try this trick to improve germination. The seeds have heavy brown coats that resist water. Nick them with fingernail clippers, or sand one side lightly with an emery board. They'll take in water faster. Admittedly, they are small and skiddy, so this process takes time. You can also soak them four to six hours (not overnight) for improved growth. But nicking is the most successful.

You may find small packs of pre-started sweet peas at farmers markets and specialty plant sales. You'll probably be delighted that someone else did the seed nicking. These give you about a four-week advantage.

Soil should be in sunny spots and well-drained. Soak the seedlings before removing them from the container. Roots will be a bit tangled, but sorting them out won't hurt them. Handle them very gently and plant about 5 inches apart.

Fertilize these every two weeks with a fish emulsion like Alaska Fish, using the liquid formula. Keep them amply watered; keep picking to keep them coming.

Pests and peas

Birds and slugs like pea leaves, unfortunately. Cover the leaves with a piece of window screening or a light net, held off the seedlings by twigs. That will keep sparrows from nibbling the leaves or crows from hauling them straight out of the ground.

Slug control can be harder. The saucer-of-beer technique works, though you need several saucers and must refill after rains. Newer slug baits with iron phosphate as the active ingredient (sold as "Sluggo" and other names) will also help. Scatter the slug bait away from, not on top of, seedlings, not because it will damage them but because you want the slugs to slither elsewhere.

If, like me, you need sweet peas to bring summer to perfection, start now.

Garden expert Mary Robson, retired area horticulture agent for Washington State University/King County Cooperative Extension, appears regularly in digs and in Practical Gardener in Northwest Life on Wednesdays. Her e-mail is marysophia@olympus.net.