Description Sweet Pea, Painted Lady Sweet Peas were first collected by a Franciscan Monk, Father Cupani, near his monastery in Sicily in 1696. The fragrance was so enticing that he collected some seeds and began to grow it in his own garden. In 1699, he sent seeds to his friend, a British schoolmaster, Professor Uvedale, in England. The flower of the original plant had deep blue lower petals (standards) and purple upper petals known as wings. By 1724, sweet peas were being grown commercially in Europe. In 1870, Henry Eckford introduced the Grandifloras a class of magnificent sweet peas with huge blossoms, but the monumental development occurred during the 1890s when Silas Cole, the head gardener at Althorp, the estate of Earl and Countess Spencer, discovered a spontaneous mutation of an Eckford sweet pea which he named Lady Spencer. Lady Spencer was a florist worthy sweet pea with huge, wavy flowers. Cole introduced the plant in 1901 at an international floral exhibition in England. The plant became an instant, international success. By 1910, the sweet pea was the most popular annual flower in cultivation in the world.
