Sweet pea flowers are one of the most fragrant and beautiful flowers to enjoy in the garden! An iconic and easy-to-grow cottage flower, we recommend all flower gardeners grow them in their garden. Best grown in the cool season through spring in Zones 9 and 10 or spring through summer in other zones, these fragrant flowers make amazing cut flower arrangements that can fill a whole room with fragrance. Like peas grown for their edible pods, sweet pea flowers are sensitive to extreme heat and prefer growing in cooler temperatures. For this reason, we recommend that you plant in October in frost-free areas so they may overwinter. This allows them to grow deep roots and produces heavier and longer blooming periods. Sweet peas originated in Italy, where a Franciscan monk found them growing on a hillside. Overtaken by the vibrant colors and amazing fragrance, the plants were dug up and planted in the monastery garden. There, they grew in popularity across Europe throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. During the 19th century, many new cultivars were created by crossing wild varieties and selecting for bigger blooms, increased fragrance, or improved cut flower qualities. Today there are so many great varieties of sweet peas available! Each one has its own unique qualities and characteristics. We grow them every year and enjoy making bouquets for loved ones come spring.