At the end of January, the Horticultural Society had a hugely entertaining and very informative talk from Darren Everest. He had driven from the Isle of Wight to talk, not about his job as an assistant funeral director, but about his hobby, growing and exhibiting his sweet peas which win gold medals at Chelsea. So, not so much a hobby as an obsession.
His father exhibited sweet peas and Darren followed in his footsteps from an early age, determined to beat him in competition. Now exhibiting is a family affair with his wife, mother and father all helping to set up the show displays, which now include wedding displays as well as the standard vases of flowers. The wedding displays proved very useful when he married his wife on the allotment where he grows his sweet peas
Before moving to the Isle of Wight, he lived in Strood, and started entering his Sweet Pea displays at the Kent County Show in 2014 winning six consecutive Gold Awards including two Premier Awards . He first entered the Chelsea Flower Show, in 2023, and was awarded a Silver Gilt Medal, and last year he won a gold medal. He had planned to enter Chelsea in 2022 but a late frost, late planting due to cold wet ground, followed by rabbits and wood pigeons put paid to that.
Darren explained how he grew his sweet peas. It’s not just sticking the seeds in the ground and waiting (which has been my method – but then I don’t win Gold medals or any prizes for my sweet peas.) He no longer sows in autumn. The milder winters have produced too much early growth, with leggy specimens. The aim is to maximise the side shoots to produce the best flowering stems, so the main stem should be pinched out. Details instructions can be found on his website www.darreneverestsweetpeas.co.uk. He also described how he prepares his sweet peas for showing If you follow his instructions on growing, you should be able to find long stems with four flowers on them. Did you know that there are left-handed and right handed flowers? This refers to the bottom flower on the stem and the direction in which it faces. Left hand facing blooms should be displayed on the left hand side of the vase and right hand facing blooms on the right hand side. Darren is a committee member of the national sweet pea organisation and step by step instructions on all things sweet peas can be found on their website www.sweetpeas.org.uk
Darren brought many seeds and plants to the meeting. We look forward to seeing them displayed in all their glory on 26th June at our ‘Rose Show’.
