Sweet Pea Leamington by Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden features delicate lavender-lilac Spencer type blooms with ruffled petals and slender green stems in a glass vase, adding soft elegance to any setting against a gently lit beige backdrop.
Sweet Pea Leamington by Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden features delicate lavender-lilac Spencer type blooms with ruffled petals and slender green stems in a glass vase, adding soft elegance to any setting against a gently lit beige backdrop.A close-up of Sweet Pea Leamington by Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden in bloom, showing delicate lavender-lilac petals with blurred green foliage and red flowers behind, captured outdoors on a sunny day.A clear glass bottle with light condensation holds several delicate Sweet Pea Leamington flowers by Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden, displayed against a plain, light-colored background.Three Sweet Pea Leamington blooms by Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden, with delicate ruffled petals in lavender-lilac shades, arranged in a clear glass bottle against a plain, light background.
AnnualAGM

Sweet Pea Leamington

Lathyrus odoratus 'Leamington' — Spencer type; RHS AGM

£2.50approx. 25 seeds

Large frilly crushed-silk flowers in clear rich lavender-lilac — the gold-standard RHS AGM lavender Sweet Pea with sun-stable colour and exceptional cutting length.

Sowing months
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Height
1.8m
Spread
30cm
Spacing
20-30cm
Position
Full sun is essential for the best flower production. While they will tolerate light, dappled shade, heavy shade will drastically reduce blooming.
Soil
Moisture-retentive but never waterlogged. Sweet peas are thirsty and require consistent moisture.
Grow guide
How to grow Sweet Pea Leamington
Read the full guide →
About this variety

Large deeply waved flowers like crushed silk in a clear rich lavender-lilac, four to a stem, on stems long and straight enough for the show bench. It holds an RHS Award of Garden Merit and has been a competition staple for decades.

Colour stability is why. Lavender is one of the shades that most often goes bleached and washy in strong sun by July, and this one holds, which matters as much in a garden as on a bench. It is also one of the exhibition-quality Spencers that kept its scent, and that is not something you can assume; a good many varieties bred for size and form gave the fragrance away.

It is vigorous, to about 2.4m, so give it a proper support rather than a few canes. Sweet peas are hungry and thirsty, so dig plenty of well-rotted manure or compost in before planting. This is the one place in a cottage garden where lean soil is the wrong answer.

Keep picking. A single pod allowed to set stops the plant.

Plant alongside

Sweet Pea Leamington pairs beautifully with these cottage garden classics

Aquilegia Columbine Blue
Aquilegia Columbine Blue
£2.55
Cosmos Purity
Cosmos Purity
£2.40
Sweet Pea Swan Lake
Sweet Pea Swan Lake
£2.40

RHS Award of Garden Merit

The RHS Award of Garden Merit is given to plants of outstanding excellence for ordinary garden use. To earn this award a plant must be of good constitution, available to the gardening public, and perform reliably across a range of UK growing conditions. It is one of the most trusted plant recommendations in British gardening and a genuine mark of quality.

Learn more at RHS.org.uk →