Lathyrus

Sweet Pea

“blissful pleasure and gracious thanks”

Sweet peas reached Britain in 1699, when the Sicilian monk Francesco Cupani sent seed to an English schoolmaster, and by the Edwardian era they were so beloved they were crowned the queen of annuals. In floriography they mean blissful or delicate pleasure, and they double as a graceful way of saying thank you for a lovely time, or a fond farewell. Their scent, all honey and orange blossom, is fleeting, which is rather the point.

In season, and in the studio

Sweet Pea is in season April to July; it is not in the studio in September, and a bunch asked for it then is offered the nearest stem instead. In the studio's bunches it is a secondary flower, the supporting cast that gives a bunch its shape and rhythm around the focal stem. The studio buys it in lilac, blush and white, and at the bench each colour is read for its own meaning.

What each colour says

• Lilacgentle first affection
• Blushdelicate pleasure and tenderness
• Whitesweet, innocent goodwill

Right for