Azureus Blue - Sweet Pea

I was delighted with these flowers--their delicate coloring and smallness, as compared to traditional sweet peas, were lovely surprises. I seeded them inside--pretty good germination rate *for a sweet pea*, which is notoriously hard to grow from seed. They struggled once transplanted, but eventually started to climb and bloom. They definitely preferred cool weather, but thoroughly worth the springtime treat. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND soaking sweet pea seeds and the nicking the seed with a small knife or nail clippers before planting. Really helps with germination rate.

The plan was to plant these guys on the corner of each bed, to attract the pollinators. Much to my pleasure, they germinated faster than anything else I planted but didn't seem to tempt any bees or butterflies. They did, however, draw in all the early aphids, and tolerated them very well. The aphids seemed perfectly happy staying on the peas, even when my other plants came up. So while I wouldn't plant these again as a bee attractant, they do very well as sacrificial lambs. I wouldn't consider these sweet peas, as they have no smell to speak of, but the flowers (which are very small) are a gorgeous shade of blue with a sweet pink blush in the center. My only complaint is that the foliage bushes out and it really does look like a clump of weeds but if you're looking for something new and interesting, give these a shot. Trivia Time! These are more commonly known as Chickling Vetch.