Have You Heard of This Old Gardening Tradition?

In Sharon Lovejoy’s book Hollyhock Days, she writes “Sow sweet peas on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17.  It’s one of those old wives’ tales.” The practice of planting sweet peas on St. Patrick’s day comes from an old Irish gardening tradition.

The legend says that planting sweet peas by lamplight after sunset the night before St. Patrick’s Day will cause the plants to have more fragrant, large, and beautiful flowers.  So this St. Patrick’s Day, why not plan an evening gardening adventure for the children?

What perfect timing for our new product, the Bamboo Tepee for the natural preschool playground!  Sweet peas grow as vines, so when you plant the seeds around a trellis or tepee like our Bamboo Tepee, the sweet pea plant will grow around the poles and come to cover the Tepee in beautiful, colorful, fragrant flowers.

If you and your children develop your own gardening tradition, let us know! We’d love to share with all of our readers.

 

Lovejoy, Sharon.  Hollyhock Days: Garden Adventures for the Young at Heart.  Loveland: Interweave Press, Inc., 1994.  Print.

We strive to create fun and informative content that will help young children learn and grow. However, it's important to keep in mind that all activities should be performed under the supervision of an adult. The Adventurous Child website is intended to serve as a reference and guidance for educational activities, and it is ultimately the responsibility of the parent, guardian, and/or educator to determine the appropriateness of the activity for their child’s age and maturity level. Thank you for your understanding and support!