Almost black ... I think

I've picked my first bunch of sweet peas and they smell gorgeous! I sowed more than ten varieties this spring, thinking that this would help me find my ultimate favourite sweet pea. 

It's great to make plans and it all seemed to work out as planned. Most of the seeds germinated, most of the plants survived the planting out stage, but I hadn't counted on all the labels fading! Obviously because I didn't use a permanent marker!! So this summer is going to be a "guess the variety" rather than a proper analysis of which one has the best fragrance, produces most blooms on the longest stems. In addition to using a proper marker next year, I think I should also sow more of the same variety and less varieties in total, as as it is now quite a mixed bunch. But a lovely one nevertheless. I think that the dark ones in the middle/right is "Almost Black", which is currently at the top of the list as it has produced most blooms! 

Another scented favourite of mine are the sweet williams. The current blooms are coming to an end and in order to encourage a new set of blooms, I have been cutting them this last week. Most of them I have given away, but this vase is now on the bar. 

In the vase are also some "Black Ball" cornflowers, an unnamed very scented white carnation and rose "Queen of Sweden". The latter usually has a vase life of about five days. It has a very light fragrance,  but it makes up for that by being sterile and not setting any seed. This means that if you forget to take out a faded bloom, the plant won't punish you by stopping to produce any flowers. For this reason this rose works really well if you consider having a rose hedge. As for a cut flower I find that you need to take out the side flowers that develop like side shoots next to the main bloom. You want the plant to put its energy into making single stemmed flowers, like the one pictured. 

I also ended up with a few odd flowers. Last year I bought a few rose bushes called Black Baccara, which is a highly acclaimed rose by florists, used a lot in wedding bouquets. It seems to do okay in the garden, not marvelous. I guess that in fully controlled greenhouses it will indeed produce those signature black buds. I got one stem of four bushes today, together with another flowering stem, also the only one of alstroemeria "Indian Summer". I'm sure that next year the plants will be bigger with more blooms! For now I just have to satisfy myself with this little vase.