I love the dark, luscious ruby reds and ‘Winston Churchill’ is one of the best, with large individual flower heads and long stems. Sweet peas can be grown from seed by sowing them into pots of compost in autumn or spring^. To prepare the seeds, leave them on moist kitchen roll until they swell or sprout, then sow several sweet pea seeds to a pot, about 1cm deep^. Sweet peas perform best if their roots are forced to grow in a deep, narrow channel, so choose a tall pot to give them a strong start^. Germination can take 7 to 15 days, depending on the soil temperature^. Once planted, sweet peas should be watered regularly and kept in full sun Pinching out the tips of young sweet pea plants when they reach about 10cm tall can encourage bushy growth^.

^{Sow under cover January-April. Direct sow/plant out. April-May. Flower May-August £2.75 for 25 seeds.}