'Darling Pea' a popular 'pea' plant

It says something about the popularity and universality of sweet peas that so many plants have the word "pea" as part of their common name. Count among them a wonderful Australian shrub known as "Darling Pea.

Swainsona galegifolia is a long-lived shrubby perennial from inland New South Wales and Queensland. Branches sprout from the crown at ground level, reaching a height of 3 feet. They're covered from tip to ground with finely textured, light green pinnate leaves that can reach 4 inches in length. Beginning in late spring, 6-inch-long spikes of 1-inch, pea-shaped flowers appear, gradually smothering the plant in a blanket of white. Flowering continues long into the fall and is followed by balloon-like fruit pods.

Swainsona is a versatile, sun-loving shrub. Use it in a border planting, in an "Australasian" section with similarly hardy shrubs or, given its copious flowering, as a focal point in your garden. Contrast the alba variety with purples and pinks, such as polygala dalmaisiana, parahebe perfiolata or members of the protea family (protea, leucadendron, leucospermum).

Darling Pea has another thing going for it: It's very popular with local bees. They're not the least bit dissuaded from their pollen gathering when I'm out there pruning my specimen.

Did you know?

Among the common plants whose pea-shaped flowers have inspired a common name acknowledging such a resemblance are the long-blooming evergreen shrub polygala dalmaisiana (sweet pea shrub); the vining shrub Kennedia nigricans with its striking black and gold flowers (black coral pea); the winter blooming shade vine Hardenbergia violacea (purple coral pea); the evergreen shrub Clianthus puniceus, sometimes known as lobster claw but also as Glory Pea for its red or white pea-like blooms; the Aussie twining shrub Chorizema cordatum with its colorful 1/2-inch gold and pink flowers; and the charming evergreen ground cover Parochetus africana, whose pretty, blue flowers and clover-like foliage have yielded the common name shamrock pea.

Cultivation

Plant in full sun to light shade in well-drained soil. Young plants have an upright habit but can spread with age. If used to create a hedge, plants will support one another and retain a vertical habit. This shrub can be semi-evergreen in milder climates. As this plant flowers on old growth, prune back 3-10 inches on branches to remove old flowers and/or to shape plant. Hardy to at least 30 degrees.

Note: This plant is poisonous to livestock.