Dried Sweet Pea

Oh sweet pea, my gentle lentil. How I love thee. Your beauty, your fragility, and your fragrance.

This was my first summer successfully planting sweet pea. in the past I have planted them in sunnier locations and I had to learn the hard way that they are not fans of the heat.

The same piece of wise advice that farmers hold for planting pea crops holds true for their prolific cousins.

These delicate ladies thrive on shade and slightly cooler temps. So this year I planted several of their bumpy, hard seeds in the coolest and dampest area of my garden and I was rewarded.

In an attempt to extend this reward I decided to dry them in silica gel beads. They retained their resplendent color and intensified their fragility.

The only down side to drying them in silica is that they develop little bumps of texture where the beads sat and desiccated them.

But I think it adds to their character and gives them a dramatic and moody flair.