The Eagle Sweet Peas display is a little oasis of tradition and calm in the Great Pavilion of the Chelsea Flower Show, their lovely Silver-Gilt Medal winning display showing off old favourites as well as three bright new introductions.
I wrote about ‘Leominster Boy' before the Show, but they also had ‘Geoff Hughes' and ‘Keira Madeline' and both are exceptions to the normal run of sweet peas.
‘Geoff Hughes' is white with bright orange flecks and streaks. Excellent for shows and a fine garden variety, it's named for the actor Geoffrey Hughes, known for his roles in Heartbeat, Keeping up Appearances, The Royle Family and Coronation Street.
‘Kiera Madeline' is named for the six year old neice of Derek Heathcote who runs Eagle Sweet Peas. The colour is rich cream and each flower is bordered with a hazy zone of rose pink - the effect is delightful. ‘Kiera Madeline' is also blessed with a strong fragrance.
All three varietes were raised at the nursery by Derek, who started Eagle Sweet Peas after being made redundant from the motor industry nearly twenty years ago.
You can order seed of these varieties at the show or, in due course, from the Eagle Sweet Peas website.