Graceful, delicate and fragrant, these sweet pea cultivars soothe and delight the senses of sight and smell.

I gathered these small bouquets from the garden in late July from seed sown in early spring. This year, for various known and unknown reasons, we have fewer sweet pea vines than usual, so every flowering stem is precious, and I arrange, enjoy, and photograph them during Sunday morning still life sessions on the balcony.

If I could grow only one flower in the garden, it would of course be sweet peas; if I could grow only one cultivar of Lathyus odoratus it would be…let me see…it would be — oh but I can’t choose only one, so I would alternate between ‘April in Paris’ (an old favourite) and ‘High Society’ (a new favourite).