The Birth Flower For April You Need To Make Your Patio Smell Amazing

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We've all heard the affectionate term "sweet pea" being used in reference to loved ones, but few of us ever stop to think about the origin of the term. In this context, sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) are flowers, not the sweet edible green legume that you grow in your vegetable garden. It may come as a surprise to some that sweet peas, a hardy annual, are one of two birth flowers for the month of April. Alongside the humble daisy, sweet peas are cheerful and simple. Having two birth flowers gives people a choice for April birthdays, and while a daisy offers a pretty face, sweet peas have a wonderful smell.

Whether you were born in April or not, sweet peas are an old-fashioned favorite, and they're one of the best fragrant plants to include in your patio container garden, where you can regularly enjoy the amazing scent. Sweet peas are a climbing vine that can grow up to 8 feet if properly supported, one of the similarities they share with garden peas. Other similarities include boosting soil health and liking it a little bit cool, but instead of being edible, sweet peas are actually poisonous. 

While modern cultivars of sweet peas have bigger blooms, it's the heirloom varieties that smell the sweetest. They grow rapidly, flowering in spring and summer, but starting them indoors about six weeks before the last frost is a good idea to get a longer bloom period. During this time, keep cutting sweet pea flowers, and they'll keep blooming.

Sweet peas are a good choice for container gardens, but from the time they are small starts, they have long roots, so using deep pots is essential to support healthier growth all season. Use extra deep seed trays, like these ones from RooTrimmer, when you're starting them indoors, and make sure to choose the right type of planter for your patio garden when it's time to transplant them. Large, deep planters are a good choice for sweet peas, because they'll have more prolific blooms. Deeper soil and roots will also make them more resistant to summer heat, which is another way to extend the bloom period for sweet peas. You can also choose heat-tolerant varieties like 'Old Spice'.

You can put containers of sweet peas anywhere you walk past frequently to enjoy their scent, whether in full sun or partial shade. In addition to their fragrance, sweet peas are one of the spring flowers that grow beautifully in containers for porch decor, with cultivars available in a wide range of colors. They also do exceptionally well along fences, and you sometimes see them growing naturally in roadside ditches. They prefer evenly moist, fertile soil.

In mild climates, you can sometimes plant sweet peas in the ground in the fall. They won't germinate until the temperatures rise in the spring, but you'll have a head start without a lot of effort. You can also cut sweet pea flowers and put them in vases near your container garden, enjoying the fresh scent for up to a week.