A tent FULL of Sweet Peas!

Last Saturday we went to a Sweet Pea Festival at a place called Sprouston, a tiny village with a beautifully kept church, but no pub, a village green, pretty yellow stone houses huddled round the green, and a smart new village hall (lovely and insulated, but lacking the character of the old crumbling village halls you still see standing occassionally).

To say I was excited when I heard about the Sweet Pea festival is an understatement, I was very very very very very excited, though I didn't shout about it.

I felt a bit on edge as we walked from the car to the marquee housing the precious Sweet Pea displays, I was that excited I felt TENSE.

You know that excited tension you get, when you're about to visit a shop selling a particularly nice yarn or fabric or whatever it is you love, and you're getting closer and closer to it, and then you're opening the door of the shop, and then you're there standing infront of the shops displays? That sort of tension.

The Sweet Pea Festival was celebrating the Centenary of the Reverand Denholm Fraser winning first prize in a national competition for the best bunch of Sweet Peas grown by an amateur gardener, back in 1911. The Daily Mail newspaper organised the competition, and was offering a huge money reward to the winner.

The Reverand sent two bunches of Sweet Peas off to Crystal Palace in London IN THE POST (!!!!!). They travelled all the way from the Scottish Borders to London in the post, amazing. One of the bunches was in the Reverend's wife's name, the other was in the Reverand's name.

The Sweet Peas were grown from seed in the Reverand's garden. The bunches he sent to London won third and first prize! And the total prize money came to £1050, that's the equivalent to about £400,000 in todays money!

The history surrounding the show is wonderful isn't it?

The walled garden where the Reverand grew his prize winning Sweet Peas was open to the public, but wasn't as glorious as I imagine it once was, though there are some Sweet Peas being grown as specimens by a volunteer from the village.

For me, the tent with the Sweet Peas in their jam jars was the exciting bit. I did like that they were displayed in jam jars, there was something very charming about that. Some people even left the labels on their jam jars, which gave their displays a quirky touch.

You would have thought the tent would have been overpowered by the scent from the Sweet Peas, but it wasn't, though if you smelt the flowers close up, you did catch their heady scent. I find that if you leave Sweet Peas in their vase on a window sill in the sun, it brings out the perfume, the smell can be quite powerful.

There might not have been a strong scent in the room, but the jewel colours were enough to make me dizzy with delight. It was pure visual gluttony.

It felt very old fashioned and loveable. People showing their prize Sweet Peas in humble jam jars is very wholesome and endearing. Both Hugo and I left feeling we'd attended a special event, it was tremendously satisfying, especially as there was tea and cake to be had too.

A tent full of Sweet Peas in jam jars, plus tea and cake, it doesn't get much better than that.

I'm off to do a bit of knitting now, my Coraline Cardigan is increasing in leaps and bounds, I'll have to show you in my next Tuesday blog post. Have a good weekend. Vanessa xxx

Comments

[Crochet with Raymond]

what a gorgeous story! I love that he sent them in the post! And those pictures, wow, they are stunning, I feel all nice and calm after enjoying all of those lovely pastel colours!
Thank you vanessa!
XXXXX

[Gill]

Thank you Vanessa!
I adore sweet peas and a tent full must have been almost overwhelming! I was interested to read that there wasn't a strong scent as I would have expected - Don't think I'd want to send sweet peas in the post today though!

[annri]

*gasp!*

[Annie]

Oh my, what glorious blooms. I would have been in heaven there, just as you clearly were.

[Kate]

Oh yes, sweet peas,tea,cake,jam jars.Heaven indeed.The colours!
I am growing some heirloom varieties this year, smaller flowers, highly scented and lovely colours.Their scent is gorgeous, rather spicier than the newer varieties,though,as you say, they need the right conditions to bring it out-as do cyclamen.I have one in bloom that I kept from last year and for a couple of days now I was wondering where the lovely scent was coming from, then realised it was the cyclamen,when the temperature gets high enough, out comes the scent.Gorgeous.Cyclamen in the studio,sweet peas in the sitting room.
Slightly marred by the curry in the kitchen....

[greenrabbitdesigns]

Oh my, how beautiful all those little jars of sweet pea look. I adore sweet pea!!
I have a bunch in the house at the minute from the garden. I find if a window or door is opened or someone walks past them the resulting air wafts the scent around the room, you just catch it every so often.
Vivienne x

[Rita]

Thanks so much for sharing this story and your beautiful photos with us. Gorgeous sweet peas and I can only imagine what it must have been like to be there in person! :)

[Teresa Kasner]

I *loved* the sweet peas in the jars and the whole tent full thing was divine. I also had to scroll down and catch up with your doings as I've been away camping for 9 days. I invite you to pop over to my blog and see my photos of our Oregon Alpine Lake here in Oregon USA. Our dog Buddy had a wonderful time and we paddled a canoe out to an island and let him run free over the rocks... he was in heaven.
((hugs)), Teresa :-)

[Monica]

I adore sweet peas too -- your pictures are so pretty.

[karen]

Heavenly sight, oh my, wish i was there, it looks soooo sweet,then tea & cake is like the cherry on top, beautiful!!!
Karen x

[D A Nelson]

I love sweet peas too! Lovely pics! Thanks for sharing. Loved the story about the Reverend as well - what a great tale! Dawn x

[faith76]

Ah absolutley beautiful - lovely photo's.

Have a lovely weekend.

Leah x

[Kristina & Jovita]

That's so pretty! And it has been proven once again that simple things (like jam jars) can be stylish and beautiful.

Love the pastel and the strong colours - lots of images that could be turned into watercolour paintings.

[Jenny]

The jam jars are such a lovely touch - it just looks beautiful! Sweet peas are some of my absolute favourite flowers, I am envious of such a lovely day out, so I can understand your excitement :) Have a lovely weekend, Jenny xxx

[Annie]

What a wonderful festival, I just LOVE sweet peas.

[maggie]

Yet more proof, if it were needed, that it's the simple things in life that please the most. They are beautiful, I can imagine the scent. I have been lucky with sweet peas this year, no bugs on them (those little black things), glorious colours all growing riotously up wigwams and I hsve been able to pick fresh posies every second day, which stand on the window sill to the sitting room, on the conservatory side, where they get the warm sun to release that beautiful perfume.

[Lady Jane]

Thank you - I really enjoyed that. If I try very hard I can almost conjure up their wonderful scent.

[Ellouise]

Oh how gorgeous!

[scentedsweetpeas]

oh wow, i wish I lived near there it looks fantastic! As you can tell from my bloggy name i love love love sweetpeas and grow them every year. You are right re the scent, even when growing the sun tends to bring their scent out , if it is a cloudy day they hardly smell at all but when the sun shines it creates a gorgeous perfume. x

[cathleen]

Pure bliss! Lovely photos, Vanessa.

[Jessie]

There's a lot ot be said bout the humble jamjar. I'm collecting some as we speak to put my button collection in. :) I'm surprised the room wasn't aglow with the heady scent of the sweet peas. I love their smell but I wouldn't want to be engulfed in it! Beautiful beuatiful pictures!xx

[Faith]

I so get this......my hubbie screwed his nose up a bit, but he was totally taken by your story of the reverand. Just the simplest things are the best aren't they.......note to self grow some sweet peas next year.....

[Carol]

Wonderful, the photos are so good I found myself "sniffing", sadly no screen scent!
Carol xx

[Val]

What a lovely post..Thank you

It's dark and wet and tippling down with rain here and this post is a real treat :0)

[margarida]

lovely:-) and the picture, i just can't get enough of them!

[noknittedknickers]

Oh this is just such a fab post, thank you! Such a quirky thing to have a tent full of sweet peas. And I TOTALLY get the tense/exciting feeling you describe. Cx

[Tam]

Stunning pics, just brilliant Vanessa! Tam xx

[Jenni at Baa-me Kniits]

How beautiful those sweet peas look all in a row in their lovely jam jars! I love the story about the Reverend sending his flowers in the post and then winning the prize, brilliant! Thanks for sharing such lovely photos, it sounds like a wonderful afternoon :-)

[Donna]

Fabulous colours, wonderful photographs. Thanks for sharing. The sweet peas in jam jars look like your paintings.

[Frances]

Oh my word, Vanessa! What a splendid display. I am sure that it completely lived up to your expectations.

Of course, as soon as I saw the first sweetpea photo, I immediately thought of your gorgeous paintings. You always capture the brilliance and delicacy of these flowers so very well.

Thank you for letting us have a peek into that very large tent. Yes, using jam jars was an inspired choice.

xo

[kazzy]

sweet peas and a white canvas tent, oh my a perfectly pretty picture- such a wonderful post, i have just been out in my small court yard to admire the new little sweet pea's popping out...i love the way you pick them and then they seem to grow as quickly as you vase them up ;0) beautiful. i have sweet williams in my kitchen today- shades of dusky pinks, whites and purples ;0)x

[Sally]

Oooo Vanessa I love this post, and your pics are doubly amazing as always!
Sally x

[Liz]

Mmmm sweet peas smell heavenly and are so cute and pretty! They remind me of my childhood, my dad always grew them and the house would be full of them!

[Helen]

I would love to have been there amongst all those little jars of sweet peas - heaven! Thank you for sharing...you have made such a lovely post about this wonderful occasion, and shown so many lovely pictures of one of my most favourite flowers, Vanessa!
Have a lovely week. Helen x

[Stephanie]

Vanessa, this surely is a corner of paradise on earth. The colours are amazing. Thank you so much for sharing this precious experience. I agree that the humble glass jar constitutes part of the beauty of this show.

Have you read Henry Donald's 'A Bunch of Sweet Peas'? Maybe you should look for it.

Perhaps you should organise a sweet pea lovers club... I would gladly join ;-)

[Hen]

Really lovely sweet peas and beautifully photographed, of course.
Hen x

[Márcia]

Thanks for the eye drops in my eyes!
I loved the pictures!
Kiss!!!

[Magic Cochin]

A tent full of sweet peas in jam jars! Wow!
You photos are beautiful... almost as good as being there.
Thank you :-)

Celia
x

[Sew Recycled!]

Wow, I bet the scent was amazing! I have a couple of jars around the house from my allotment and the scent from those are outstanding! Beautiful! I will never tire of scented sweetpeas.
Emx

[sarah-jane down the lane]

Gosh Vanessa. what a heavenly.heavenly post! All those sweet peas, row upon row, all inside a wonderful white marquee, it's just too lovely! I would have adored this too, thanks so much for showing, I am smiling from ear to ear!

Sarah x

[Emma]

Good grief. It must have been heaven inside that tent. Don't they look amazing en masse like that?

[Pandora Bracelets sale]

I follow you VIA GFC and I love your blog!