Cecilia Cran helps you discover the delights of the sweet pea – and some of Newham’s favourite green escapes.

What to grow this month:

This month I am planting sweet pea seeds. It is a little later than I would normally like to plant them, but we’ve had such a chilly start to spring, I didn’t want to start them off only to risk the frost getting to them.

Sweet peas are well accustomed to growing in pots, containers, directly in the ground or even from a hanging basket – so they’re a great choice whatever your available growing space.

Relatively low maintenance and simple to grow, get sweet peas right and you’ll be rewarded with an abundance of great smelling, pretty flowers from around mid-June right up until September, and the good news is, the more you pick the flowers, the more they produce!

How to grow:

I start by growing the seeds in small seed trays, indoors. I sow them in peat-free compost, placing them 2cm below the soil. Place them in a sunny spot and keep them well – but not over – watered. The seeds should start to germinate in around 2 weeks.

When the plants reach 10cm in height ‘pinch out’ the plants – this means using your fingers to pinch off the top 3-5cm tips of the sweet pea plant down to a leaf. The reason we do this is that it encourages bushy growth and more flowers.

Next, choose where you want to plant them out. Prepare the ground/container with compost and create enough space for the roots of the plant to sit – you don’t need to dig too deep, aim to keep the stem with leaves above soil.

I recommend growing them around 15-20cm apart from each other, as the plants spread and put out suckers, which quickly result in them getting intertwined and can be tough to untangle.

Carefully remove the plants from the seed tray/original container, place your fingers either side of the plant stem to support it and turn upside down, tap the bottom of the container and the plant should come out easily. Avoid pulling the plant out, as you may snap or damage the stem.

Sweet peas will need to be trained up a pole, as they can grow up to 2m high, they produce suckers that will cling to the poles, but sometimes it is good to tie them to the pole to stop the stem drooping and snapping. Feed them with a fertiliser high in potash, this will encourage healthy growth.

Green escape:

I really enjoy getting out and about in all the parks and green spaces Newham has to offer. This month, my go to green escape is Central Park. Situated in the East of the borough, it’s been cherished by locals for decades. Originally opened in 1898, it still proves as popular today as it did then.

There are heaps of activities to enjoy – an impressive kids adventure playground, three tennis courts and a couple of ping pong tables, a basketball hoop and a bowls club. If you fancy a more relaxed visit, the park also has a pretty sycamore tree-lined walkway running through the centre and a host of beautiful trees to admire, including silver birch, red oak, pyramidal hornbeam and blossom. Take a wander around the well maintained gardens and admire the pretty flower beds. The park also has a brilliant history trail, documenting (slightly random!) past events – from a spot where people watched a windmill burn down to the place where a miniature railway ran.

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