UK Sweet Pea grower English Sweet Peas will be making its RHS Chelsea Flower Show debut, with a scented exhibit showcasing the nursery’s sweet pea varieties, including a special new launch, Sweet Pea ‘Amy Dowden’.
English Sweet Peas has been producing sweet pea seeds in Maldon, Essex since the 1990s. The company has expanded through a series of mergers, initially joining forces with Johnson Sweet Peas, and most recently with renowned sweet pea grower and Plant Heritage National Collection holder, Roger Parsons. English Sweet Peas are now the UK’s leading specialist grower and breeder of sweet peas.
The company is run by Phil Johnson, who is assisted by a small team who dig, plant, fertilise, weed, tie in, harvest and test the seeds. The seeds are mostly grown in greenhouses, the pods are harvested by hand and seed lots are germination tested to ensure a quality product. English Sweet Peas runs a specialist breeding program to select the finest varieties and quality seeds and many of their introductions will be on display at RHS Chelsea alongside some favourite old varieties. According to the team, they are growing over 4000 plants to ensure they can select the best blooms for the exhibit.
Sweet Pea ‘Amy Dowden’
Their new variety, Sweet Pea ‘Amy Dowden’ has large frilly petals, soft rose pink and white colour, and a sweet scent, reminiscent of vanilla and roses. Flowering for a long period in summer, it is unusual in that it regularly bears at least five flowers on each stem, where most varieties only have up to four.
Named after, Amy Dowden MBE because Johnson and his team, felt that Dowden, as one of the nation’s best loved Strictly Come Dancing ballroom dancers, shared many attributes with the new variety – not in the least for her incredible resilience in overcoming severe health challenges and her dedication to her charity work.
“I am thrilled to have this beautiful new sweet pea named after me. I love all flowers, and sweet peas have always been a favourite in the summer with their stunning scent. I am also so pleased that the two charities for which I am an ambassador, will benefit from the sale of these seeds,” said Amy Dowden.
The company explained that 10% of the sales of Sweet Pea ‘Amy Dowden’ purchased at RHS Chelsea and online from English Sweet Peas will be donated to help support two of Dowden’s personally chosen charities: the breast cancer awareness charity, CoppaFeel; and Crohn’s & Colitis UK which provides information, support, and services to people with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
“It is an absolute honour to be able to create an exhibit at RHS Chelsea Flower Show in the legendary Great Pavilion, which plays host to many of the world’s leading growers and nurseries. We are excited to be able to display some of old favourite varieties alongside a selection of our very latest introductions and in particular the new ‘Sweet Pea – Amy Dowden’ which is one of our finest own bred varieties this year. We are delighted that Amy has kindly agreed to the name of this stunning bloom and that we are able to support two of the charities she supports with the sales of its seeds,” said Johnson.