The Sweet Pea Book [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Graham Rice (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2, 2003

An inspiring and comprehensive guide, The Sweet Pea Book is for anyone interested in growing these most exquisite of fragrant flowers and using them in the garden. It covers the colorful history of the sweet pea, provides detailed practical advice on seed raising and cultivation, offers ideas for using the plants effectively in the garden, and discusses dwarf sweet peas for small gardens and patios. A comprehensive descriptive list of species and varieties will prove useful to all sweet pea enthusiasts.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

An Englishman with numerous gardening books to his credit, Rice recently wed American garden photographer judywhite, who contributes alluring images to this up-to-date guide to growing Lathyrus odoratus, the charming sweet pea. Rice offers gardeners a brief history of wild and cultivated plants and recommends specific varieties endowed with a strong perfume. A descriptive section lists the most desirable plants along with explanations that help clarify classifications ranging from dwarf and Grandiflora to flower types like Picotee. Gardeners wishing to grow copious amounts of healthy sweet peas for cutting or to enliven flower beds and borders should heed Rice's expert counsel on plant culture, care, and propagation, taking advantage, as well, of the proposed design ideas, from intermingling sweet peas so they scramble up rose bushes or shrubs to creating stunning color combinations or planting up eye-catching containers. Alice Joyce
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Gardeners wishing to grow copious amounts of healthy sweet peas for cutting or to enliven flower beds and borders should heed Rice's expert counsel."
Alice Joyce, Booklist, October 15, 2003 (Booklist )

"[This] book is the most current and definitive book on sweet peas to date."
—Jeneen Wiche, Shelbyville Sentinel-News, February 25, 2005 (Shelbyville Sentinel-News )

"For complete immersion in the allure of the sweet pea, check out The Sweet Pea Book."
—Kathy Renwald, Toronto Star, January 20, 2005 (Toronto Star )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Timber Press (July 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881925950
• ISBN-13: 978-0881925951
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #786,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful find, November 6, 2005

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sweet Pea Book (Paperback)

British author, Graham Rice has written 20 books on gardening subjects and is also a weekly columnist for London's "Evening Standard" newspaper. "The Sweet Pea Book" is a joy to read, and the photographs by judywhite (wife of Graham Rice) are among the finest I've seen in any book on horticulture.

In Victorian times, the sweet pea was considered 'the queen of the annuals' but its popularity has since suffered a long decline, which this author means to reverse.

He begins with the migration of the wild sweet pea ('Lathyrus odoratus') into the gardens of seventeenth-century Europe. There is still some debate as to where this migration occurred, but the sweet pea seems to have been first cultivated in Sicily, no matter where it had actually originated.

According to this author, sweet peas are not difficult to grow. Depending on the climate (this book was written primarily for British and North American gardeners), they can be planted out in the spring or fall, or grown under glass. There are now dwarf varieties that lend themselves to container cultivation. He describes each variety or cultivar of modern sweet pea so that you can choose the ones that will do well in your garden--assuming you can find the seed for sale.

(My favorite source is the Thompson & Morgan seed catalogue.)

The author will help you decide whether to plant in spring or fall, whether to chip, sand, or soak your seed and how to keep the plants from getting too leggy (my biggest problem). There are also chapters on how to create new varieties of sweet pea, solving sweet problems, and which flowers mix very well with sweet peas.

This is a delightful book to read even if you are not yet in love with the 'queen of annuals.' For those of us who are already fans, this book is a beautiful find.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent sweet pea resource!, September 1, 2004

By 

Beverly Hines (Boise, ID United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sweet Pea Book (Paperback)

I am a lay gardener (as opposed to an educated horticulturalist) and my favorite smelling flower is the sweet pea. I grew one variety of them for the first time this spring and I am determined to grow more. I was looking for a book to educate me about sweet peas and this was the right book!

This book is full of beautiful, colorful pictures which clearly show a flower's personality much more than a written paragraph could. I think this book is worth looking over just for the pictures alone.

In addition, it is filled with helpful and information in an easy-to-read format. I particularly enjoyed the sections on growing sweet peas from seeds, sweet peas recommended for various regions of the United States (he includes info for those in the UK too), the history of the sweet pea, and the specific catalogue (with many pictures) of individual varieties and cultivars. I was grateful that he included a rating of each sweet pea's fragrance (if he knew it). That helped me find which sweet pea I wanted to get as a strong fragrance is an important feature for me.

Kelly is definitely not a horticultural snob. He values the home gardener and encourages gardeners to dabble in crossing flowers and home breeding. He is very knowledgeable and suggests some potentially productive areas for experimenting. He also illuminates what type of breeding might be too difficult (needing a lab environment to succeed). His well-described `how to' section on breeding has inspired me to try it just for the adventure of it.

I do wish more was said throughout the book about the specific temperatures that different types of sweet peas prefer. Also, I would find it more helpful if specific temperatures were given rather than just saying `hot summer' or `cold winter'. I also think it would be more helpful to only use the USDA zones as opposed to interspersing Sunset zones with the USDA zones.

Other than that, this is a terrific book for home gardeners who just want to learn more about the sweet pea: it's history, how to grow it, and which sweet pea would be best for their Eden.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Guide to Sweet Peas, November 24, 2004

By 

Greg Speichert "garden guy" (Cedar Lake, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sweet Pea Book (Paperback)

For anyone wanting to grow sweet peas in their garden or just read up on the different types, this book is the way to go. Graham Rice creates a complete book about the history, types, fragrance and culture of the sweet pea.
The photography is stunning. Rice gathers different varieties of sweet peas and photographs them together making this book full of color and beauty.
Rice has done another great job by bringing these plants to us. It is impossible after reading this book that you won't want to try and grow sweet peas, even if you live in the tropics.