It worked!
In my new home here in Bulgaria summers are pretty hot. One of my favorite flowers, the lovely sweet pea, does not like it hot at all! I have tried for a few years now to grow them here, but after an enthusiastic start they just give up once the sun starts to shine in earnest by mid May. I found some kindred souls discussing the problem, who live in parts of America where they also have hot summers and a real fondness for sweet peas. The thing to do seemed to be to sow them in autumn and protect them from frosts, so that they can create a mass of roots all autumn and winter, and are ready to bloom once spring arrives. And it worked! They flowered like crazy in May and June! They suffered from a severe attack by the aphids in early spring, but I managed to control that by spraying them with soapy water (sorry aphids…). There were lovely colours, pink, light violet, almost black purple, and even a few striped flowers. I will gather the seeds and sow them again this autumn, probably late September. Hoorah!! At last, sweet peas in Bulgaria!
