Birth Flower (April)

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Sweet Pea

Departure and Good-bye

Sweet peas were especially popular during the late nineteenth century and were widely grown in 1722 for their sweet fragrance. Sweet peas are considered, by some people, the floral emblem for Edwardian England and used often as a cut flower. Sweet peas were an important part of floral arrangements for every wedding and dinner party. Dried petals of sweet peas was one of the most important ingredients for potpourri.

According to reports, the Reverend W. T. Hutchins was reported saying that the sweet pea has “a fragrance like the universal gospel, yea, a sweet prophecy of welcome everywhere that has been abundantly fulfilled.”

Superstition has it that seeds sown before sunrise on Saint Patrick’s day will have larger and more fragrant blossoms. Others believe the same results will occur if seeds are sown anytime between the feasts of Saints David and Chad (March 1 and 2) and of Saint Benedict (March 21).

In the study of heredity, Father Gregor Mendel first performed his famous work in genetics using sweet peas. Lathyrus, the genus name, comes from the Greek word for pulse.