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Nothing ends the deep freeze like free sweet peas

Allyn Harvey

Sweet peas are here!Ramona and Jim Markalunas have been distributing sweet peas for just about as long as anyone can remember. Ramona says the tradition has been going on for “at least 25 years.”A sweet pea is a flower that blooms from a sweet pea seed. They come in a variety of colors and typically have five pedals. The really cool thing is the more you pick them the more they bloom. They begin blossoming in early July and continue right up to the first frost.Sweet peas aren’t for eating. They’re tiny compared to the kind of peas that the Green Giant harvests. They’re for looking at. Oh, and Ramona points out, “The aroma is to die for.”Small white envelopes of sweet pea seeds are available at The Aspen Times for any and all who come by. And they’re free – that’s right, flower seeds you don’t have to pay for. Planting instructions are printed on each and every envelope, which makes the plants easy to grow for novice and veteran planters alike.Ramona says they drape nicely over the side of a window box. If you plant them in the ground, it’s best to have a fence they can climb. “They don’t do well on the ground in this cold country,” she said.They need to be in the ground fairly soon, so please come by the front office at The Aspen Times and pick up a pack or three.