Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

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Sweet Pea Festival

A feast for the senses at Anne Hathaway's Cottage from late June to August.

A feast for the senses with both old and new varieties of Sweet Peas in the Cottage gardens at Anne Hathaway's Cottage.  Here's a taster of just some of the varieties you can see (and smell) :

CUPANI   A Sicilian monk Cupani sent seed of the wild Sweet Pea to Robert Uvedale of Enfield more than 300 years ago, and this is where all our modern varieties are descended. The flowers are small, the stems short, the colour combination striking, and the scent irresistible, the 'original' sweet pea and a Superb scent.

FIRE AND ICE  This is one of the most vigorous and highly scented of the grand flora sweet peas

MRS COLLIER Bred in Edinburgh in 1906, this superb cream grand flora sweet pea is a particularly highly scented sweet pea

PRINCE EDWARD OF YORK A stunning vibrant sweet pea with cerise standard and magenta wings this will brighten up any garden. Bred by Henry Eckford in 1897
 
PAINTED LADY The original Painted Lady arose as a sport from 'Cupani' in about 1730. It had only one or two small flowers per stem, and survived in cultivation at least until 1910

LORD NELSON An heirloom sweet pea dating back to 1907 this heirloom sweet pea is a rich Navy Blue in colour and heavily scented height up to 2m

MISS WILLMOTT An heirloom sweet pea Miss Wilmott a beautiful shade of salmon pink, introduced early 1900

QUEEN ALEXANDRA An heirloom sweet pea dating back to 1906, scarlet colour and heavily scented.

PRIMA DONNA An excellent pure pink self-coloured Sweet Pea introduced in 1896.

ECLIPSE The flower opens to a pale mauve and matures to cerise purple on long stems. Highly scented

WHITE SUPREME A large, pure white, well scented flowers on strong stems. A well established white exhibition sweet pea

MATUCANA An heirloom grand flora variety dating from 1543 possibly one of the first sweet peas in cultivation and still one of the best available. A strong scented variety with a striking appearance of deep blue flowers with purple wings, sweet scent in the garden or vase as a cut flower.
 
ALBUTT BLUE   A white with blue picotee edge. Waved petals. Outstanding scent. 

Don't miss out on this wonderful display of colour and scent.

For just £2.50 per packet you can purchase seeds of the most popular varieties in the gift shop at Anne Hathaway's Cottage, which are not available through normal retail outlets and garden centres.

Varieties available Albutt blue, Lord Nelson, Price Edward of York, Matucana, Mrs Collier, Painted Lady.