Sweet peas would have to be one of my favourite plants to have in the garden. They are super simple to grow. They smell fantastic - if you plant the scented variety. They look amazing. And they make great cut flowers. In my opinion, you really can't go wrong by planting sweet peas.

This lovely addition to your garden can be grown from seeds. But I prefer to plant seedlings. Getting seeds to flowering stage can be a bit hit and miss. When you purchase Awapuni Nurseries seedlings all the hard work of getting the seeds to germinate and grow into established seedlings has already been taken care of. This means they're pretty much guaranteed to grow, and they'll develop faster - resulting in earlier flowers.

At Awapuni we sell three varieties of sweet peas. The dwarf mixed variety produces plants that grow to about 30-40cm and is perfect for growing in borders, bedding and pots. The fragrant beauty variety has a fantastic fragrance, grows to around 120-180cm and climbs or trails well on walls or trellises. And while all three varieties make great cut flowers, our specific cut flower mixed variety also grows to a height of around 120-180cm and produces extra good blooms perfect for taking inside and placing in a vase.

Grab your sweet pea seedlings from your local supermarket, The Warehouse or Bunnings. Alternatively, if you're one of the many Kiwis who prefers to buy online these days, simply head to our online shop and get your plants delivered direct to your door.

Next you need to find a place to plant. As mentioned, sweet peas grow well in pots - particularly the dwarf variety which don't require staking and will cascade over the edge nicely. The other two varieties will also grow well in large pots. You'll just need to tie four or five bamboo stakes into a tee-pee shape to support the plants as they grow. And make sure you plant them in some good quality potting mix to really help them along their way.

If you're growing in the garden, all you need is a sunny, well-drained spot next to a wall or some sort of support structure. Simply add some netting, wire or light wooded frame for the flowers to climb up.

Plant the seedlings about 20cm apart from each other. And don't hold back! The more you plant, the more colour you'll add to your garden and the more flowers you'll have for brightening up and creating fragrance in your home. You can expect to your sweet peas to flower in around 10 to 12 weeks from planting.

Remember to water, but avoid over-head watering to prevent them getting powdery mildew. And, because they're annual plants, pick off the flowers once they're spent, and remove the whole plant when it's stopped flowering.