Sweet Pea Swan Lake
Lathyrus odoratus 'Swan Lake' — Spencer type; RHS AGM
The exhibitor's and florist's pure white sweet pea — Hardy Annual H3; RHS AGM; Spencer type; solid, creamy-dense pure white petals (not papery or translucent); clean, fresh fragrance — not overpowering; perfect for dining tables near food; the palate cleanser that breaks up hot colours and reflects moonlight; vigorous; sow Oct–Nov (best) cold frame or Jan–Mar at 15°C; TOXICITY: all parts mildly toxic
About this variety
Lathyrus odoratus 'Swan Lake' Spencer Sweet Pea 'Swan Lake'
The pure white Spencer — huge ruffled snow-white blooms on long stems with delightful fragrance, ideal for wedding bouquets and the moon-garden cutting border. Sweet Pea 'Swan Lake' is the classic white Sweet Pea bringing pure cottage elegance to any climbing scheme.
The variety that defines white in the cottage Sweet Pea palette. 'Swan Lake' is a Spencer-type producing huge ruffled snow-white blooms on long stems, with the traditional Sweet Pea fragrance. The pure-white colour combined with the substantial Spencer flower form makes 'Swan Lake' particularly outstanding for wedding work — the white-and-fragrance combination is exactly what wedding florists want from a Sweet Pea, and growing your own provides materials of a quality and freshness commercial flowers simply can't match. Hardy annual climber to 2 metres. Vigorous, reliable, classic. Flowers June through October.
A note on growing
Standard Sweet Pea cultivation (autumn sow October–November or spring sow January–March; soak seeds 2–4 hours; plant out April–May in full sun in rich fertile soil; provide sturdy support immediately; pick daily).
⚠️ Toxicity warning: seeds toxic if eaten.
Where it shines
In wedding cutting gardens specifically for ceremony and bouquet work — 'Swan Lake' is the textbook wedding Sweet Pea. In moon gardens where the pure white glows in evening light. As an elegant background variety for any cottage cutting scheme, where the pure white provides the neutral foil that makes coloured Sweet Peas read more vividly. As a classical cottage white anchor.
Plant alongside
For a wedding-themed cutting scheme, combine 'Swan Lake' with Cosmos 'Purity' (matching white substance, contrasting cottage form), Gypsophila 'Covent Garden' (matching airy white filler), and Ammi majus (matching delicate lace). With Sweet Pea 'Mollie Rilstone' for a layered cream-and-white cottage Sweet Pea scheme. With Larkspur 'Limelight Mix' for vertical structure rising behind the climbing Sweet Peas.
Plant alongside
Sweet Pea Swan Lake pairs beautifully with these cottage garden classics
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 →