I was looking at the glamorous but also slightly wacky work of Madame Yevonde for the Persephone Posts I wrote during the week when I came across this photograph, Shelling Peas (cover for Woman and Beauty, July 1938).
How about Sugar snap peas? I just bought a bag from an Amish lady at the Farmer's Market in Cadott, WI yesterday and have been gorging on them. I used to grow sweet peas from seed in my garden in Totnes and later in my allotment in Cornworthy. They are fleeting when picked but what a glorious treat!
Sweet peas elude me; green peas don’t…. The green variety are the first planted and harvested. The sweet peas are meant to keep me humble…. A friend of mine whose husband was in the military tells of riding over the Alps with five small children loose on the back seat (before car seats and seatbelts). To steel her nerves, she purchased a half bushel of peas, placed the bag on the car floor and shelled peas while saying the rosary…. An interesting solution to say the least…..
I live near a little French bistro called Petit Pois where every spring on the menu they offer their velvety smooth chilled pea soup with a dollop of crème fraîche. A yummy way to celebrate ... Spring Is Here! I adore sweet peas too....the shape of the flower, the colors and the fabulous twisty curly stems. I had some in a vase recently. They stayed fresh for a long time. After the flowers were spent I kept the vines in the vase and enjoyed their curl-cues. Thank you Jane!
Green peas were my childhood sweet. I adored them, and was to be found munching my way along the rows of peas. This is the first year I've been able to try growing them myself. Poked some seeds into the ground (too late) and waited and lo! some tiny plants have appeared. May not get a harvest but it's an inspiration for next year. Same with sweet peas - I've never grown them from seed myself but am resolving to get organised next year. Thank you for the discovery of Lucy Doyle's paintings - through the link you posted I've discovered her exhibition catalogues, which are a delight.
A special memory for me is lying on a rug on the very long grass in the back garden with my big sister, shelling and eating the fresh peas out of the paper bag which our mum had bought us specially. Whereas my husband tells me that he and his brother also podded peas in the garden but they had to whistle so their mum knew they definitely weren't eating any. Poor thing.
Jane, always happy to offer tips on growing sweet peas. Deep root trainers, no heat, pinching out to make the seedlings bushy, rich soil, good amount of water, weekly seaweed fertiliser, and pick the flowers a lot so they don’t go to seed. Easton walled Garden near Grantham has excellent seeds
My grandfather loves shelling peas and beans - he and my grandmother used to sit on their back porch until long after dark on summer evenings, shelling peas, and my mom recalls my grandma taking peas to the beach, shelling them throughout the day, and then serving them up for dinner! I’ve always loved those stories, and think of them when I find myself shelling peas, which really is such soothing work and lends itself so well to conversation. Thank you for this lovely post!
Ah this brings back memories of my first boyfriend Matthew and his mate Dave - they used to work in the Christian Salveson pea factory in Peterborough at weekends and during the summer holidays. They used to say exactly the same thing as you...... My husband thinks peas are too mean and too green” to quote Clarice Bean and will only eat them in a Skye Macalpine recipe which is absolutely fantastic where they are cooked in stock with other things or keema lamb. Those sweet peas are fantastic. I do love them so. I have such strong memories of my Dad growing them and picking them. Ive never been successful with them but will give them another go when I retire next year.
Great post!! I adored shelling peas on the back step with my beloved grandad, who was a wonderful gardener! I have a splendid bunch of sweetpeas on the table like yours - a neighbour brought them round yesterday :)
PS I raise you for a crappy job - I collected eggs every weekend throughout my teens on a neighbouring farm (also in Lincs, as it happens :)) I'd have traded smelling like peas for reeking of chickensh*t :D x
This year I’ve succeeded for the first time in growing enough peas for a good few handfuls each. Next year I’ll up my ambition, I adore shelling and eating peas.
My best pea-related memory is of spending a whole evening with a German farming family in the Black Forest where we sat chatting and shelling the family’s pea harvest for the year on a terrace overlooking their fruit orchard well into the night. This was (is) European subsistence farming on a scale fast disappearing. It inspired me to make better use of my growing spaces.
Serendipity! Thankyou for welcoming me and the other visitors into your home;
and it was fabulous to see your wonderful work in real life after many years of seeing it in books and on-screen.
On a side note, I have Never Liked Peas. Even home grown ones by my Daddy and Grandpa. And that’s without any good reason such as you have. I was indulged with this foible as I ate up every other vegetable with relish, including unpopular-with-some ones like swede and broad beans!
How about Sugar snap peas? I just bought a bag from an Amish lady at the Farmer's Market in Cadott, WI yesterday and have been gorging on them. I used to grow sweet peas from seed in my garden in Totnes and later in my allotment in Cornworthy. They are fleeting when picked but what a glorious treat!
You definitely win the booby prize for sh1t job!
Sweet peas elude me; green peas don’t…. The green variety are the first planted and harvested. The sweet peas are meant to keep me humble…. A friend of mine whose husband was in the military tells of riding over the Alps with five small children loose on the back seat (before car seats and seatbelts). To steel her nerves, she purchased a half bushel of peas, placed the bag on the car floor and shelled peas while saying the rosary…. An interesting solution to say the least…..
I live near a little French bistro called Petit Pois where every spring on the menu they offer their velvety smooth chilled pea soup with a dollop of crème fraîche. A yummy way to celebrate ... Spring Is Here! I adore sweet peas too....the shape of the flower, the colors and the fabulous twisty curly stems. I had some in a vase recently. They stayed fresh for a long time. After the flowers were spent I kept the vines in the vase and enjoyed their curl-cues. Thank you Jane!
Green peas were my childhood sweet. I adored them, and was to be found munching my way along the rows of peas. This is the first year I've been able to try growing them myself. Poked some seeds into the ground (too late) and waited and lo! some tiny plants have appeared. May not get a harvest but it's an inspiration for next year. Same with sweet peas - I've never grown them from seed myself but am resolving to get organised next year. Thank you for the discovery of Lucy Doyle's paintings - through the link you posted I've discovered her exhibition catalogues, which are a delight.
A special memory for me is lying on a rug on the very long grass in the back garden with my big sister, shelling and eating the fresh peas out of the paper bag which our mum had bought us specially. Whereas my husband tells me that he and his brother also podded peas in the garden but they had to whistle so their mum knew they definitely weren't eating any. Poor thing.
Jane, always happy to offer tips on growing sweet peas. Deep root trainers, no heat, pinching out to make the seedlings bushy, rich soil, good amount of water, weekly seaweed fertiliser, and pick the flowers a lot so they don’t go to seed. Easton walled Garden near Grantham has excellent seeds
This is so informative and enchanting!
You were definitely a strong young woman to endure your summer job in the pea sorting line!
Love all the pea related art work you chose for this essay!
I did manage to grow some heirloom sweet peas this spring. Soaking seeds and being very patient as they grew so slowly!
Now our summer heat is about the end of them! Picking the last for a small bouquet.
Will be saving seeds too!
My grandfather loves shelling peas and beans - he and my grandmother used to sit on their back porch until long after dark on summer evenings, shelling peas, and my mom recalls my grandma taking peas to the beach, shelling them throughout the day, and then serving them up for dinner! I’ve always loved those stories, and think of them when I find myself shelling peas, which really is such soothing work and lends itself so well to conversation. Thank you for this lovely post!
Ah this brings back memories of my first boyfriend Matthew and his mate Dave - they used to work in the Christian Salveson pea factory in Peterborough at weekends and during the summer holidays. They used to say exactly the same thing as you...... My husband thinks peas are too mean and too green” to quote Clarice Bean and will only eat them in a Skye Macalpine recipe which is absolutely fantastic where they are cooked in stock with other things or keema lamb. Those sweet peas are fantastic. I do love them so. I have such strong memories of my Dad growing them and picking them. Ive never been successful with them but will give them another go when I retire next year.
Great article. I expected some reference to the special type of peas from Preston. I love mushy peas made from scratch not from a tin. Ken
Great post!! I adored shelling peas on the back step with my beloved grandad, who was a wonderful gardener! I have a splendid bunch of sweetpeas on the table like yours - a neighbour brought them round yesterday :)
PS I raise you for a crappy job - I collected eggs every weekend throughout my teens on a neighbouring farm (also in Lincs, as it happens :)) I'd have traded smelling like peas for reeking of chickensh*t :D x
Lovely; thank you.
This year I’ve succeeded for the first time in growing enough peas for a good few handfuls each. Next year I’ll up my ambition, I adore shelling and eating peas.
My best pea-related memory is of spending a whole evening with a German farming family in the Black Forest where we sat chatting and shelling the family’s pea harvest for the year on a terrace overlooking their fruit orchard well into the night. This was (is) European subsistence farming on a scale fast disappearing. It inspired me to make better use of my growing spaces.
Serendipity! Thankyou for welcoming me and the other visitors into your home;
and it was fabulous to see your wonderful work in real life after many years of seeing it in books and on-screen.
On a side note, I have Never Liked Peas. Even home grown ones by my Daddy and Grandpa. And that’s without any good reason such as you have. I was indulged with this foible as I ate up every other vegetable with relish, including unpopular-with-some ones like swede and broad beans!