Get the Look

What You Need

Grey metal trough planter, about 70 x 50 x 30 cm (28 x 20 x 12 in)

Metal shop-fitting mesh panel, about 6 m (20 ft) tall and 60 cm (24 in) wide (to support the sweet peas)

2–4 large nails (for fixing the panel)

Electric drill or a hammer and heavy-duty nail (optional)

Drainage crocks

Potting mix

Sweet pea support rings or garden twine, for tying in the sweet peas (optional)

Plants

5 ‘Almond Pink Mrs Boulton’ sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus)

5 ‘Appleblossom’ snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus)

1 ‘Diamond Light Pink’ diascia (Diascia)

2 ‘Supreme Cantaloupe’ coneflower (Echinacea)

3 orange-pink verbena (Verbena)

  1. Position the trough planter against the wall or fence. Check the planter has drainage holes. If not, you can add these using an electric drill or a hammer and heavy-duty nail (see Planting Techniques). Cover the holes with drainage crocks.
  2. Nail the mesh panel for training the sweet peas to the wall or fence, so the bottom is roughly level with the top of the planter.
  3. Fill the planter two-thirds full with potting mix and plant the five sweet peas along the back so they will be able to climb up and over the panel. Although sweet peas are self-clinging climbers that will wind their tendrils around the supporting framework, it’s a good idea to give them a helping hand by tucking some of the stems in place or tying them in with rings or garden twine. Make sure the root ball of each plant is an inch or so beneath the top of the planter and adjust the level of the potting mix, as required.
  4. Add the remainder of the plants, positioning a coneflower at each end of the planter (just next to the edge of the panel) and a frill of diascia and snapdragon along the front.
  5. Fill any gaps between the plants with more potting mix and firm in gently. Water well and allow to drain.

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Aftercare — When growing sweet peas, keep tying in the new shoots as they clamber over the panel, especially if they are pointing outwards or look as if they may break. Sweet peas do not like to dry out, particularly when they are grown in pots, so ensure the water reaches the roots and water daily in hot, dry weather. Deadhead the sweet peas as often as possible. This is important for the annual ‘Almond Pink Mrs Boulton’, which will cease flowering if seedpods are allowed to develop.

Tips — If you love the scent of sweet peas, and want to try different varieties, be sure to choose annual ones because they have a stronger fragrance than their perennial cousins. The more you pick sweet peas, the more they grow. So, cut some as flowers for a vase and enjoy their gorgeous fragrance indoors, too.

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