LATHYRUS: THE COMPLETE GUIDE

by Greg Kenicer and Roger Parsons Royal Horticultural Society, £40 ISBN 978-1911666127

A wide-ranging, detailed, scientific and practical study of a much-loved garden plant with invaluable coverage of cultivars for gardeners. Reviewer Matthew Biggs is a Kew-trained gardener and presenter.

There was general rejoicing among plantspeople and gardeners when the RHS decided to revisit its tradition of publishing monographs on garden plants. It began with Kniphofia in 2016, and has included Hedera and Wisteria, and the latest outstanding offering is a comprehensive study of the popular genus Lathyrus, including the garden favourite sweet peas.

The authors, a respected taxonomist and a long-time enthusiast, who both hold Plant Heritage National Collections, combine their experience and enthusiasm to create this definitive work. As you would expect of a monograph, each subject is covered in minute detail, from history, classification, morphology and distribution, to subjects of particular interest to the gardener, such as breeding, selection and cultivation.

The list of species is fascinating and enlightening, and the comprehensive list of cultivars and accompanying images will have every keen gardener reaching for the catalogues. There are also some delicious facts to savour, including how Gertrude Jekyll used Lathyrus latifolius as a climber growing up cones in herbaceous borders then

‘pulling them down’ as infill when neighbouring plants had gone over, and how L. japonicus was a favourite of Darwin and his contemporaries when testing the viability of sea-drifted seeds. This global overview also covers history and cultivation, including soils, the best cultivars for fragrance and plant associations in detail, and reveals the stories of great breeders, such as Henry Eckford of Wem in Shropshire, and the origin of the Spencer sweet peas.

Packed with photographs, this well-illustrated book is well worth the price, and will be of interest to the many gardeners who are passionate about sweet peas and would like to know more about their background and cultivation. Those yet to be fully seduced by their charms will soon find themselves growing more.