Janet wrote:

My wife saw a TV program where it was said
that everlasting sweet peas flower for 6 months.
I bought a packet of sweet pea seeds (Mr Fothergill's)
which say they flower for 3 months - August to October.

Was the man/woman on TV over-optimistic,
or is there a special type of everlasting sweet pea
that flowers for much longer?

You're looking for perennial sweet peas. Not annual.

Are your Fothergill seeds described as "annuals" on the pkt?

They are perennial, according to the packet -
Everlasting Mixed, Lathyrus latifolius.

Incidentally, I misread the packet: it says Flowers May-July
(also "Flowers the year after sowing").


--
Timothy Murphy
gayleard /at/ eircom.net
School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin