Pass the Peas Please

This spring I planted Blauschokker or Blauwschokker peas (Pisum sativum) in the raised bed my husband made for me with a stringed trellis on one side. I knew the 3-inch pods were going to be a stunning dark violet against a 4-5-ft. backdrop of vining green leaves and tendrils, but I had no idea how lovely the flowers were in shades of red and purple. For those of you who want your pea plants to be tasty and ornamental, look no further than the Blauschokker. This Dutch heirloom bears pods that can be harvested when young and cooked just like snow peas or shelled when mature and parboiled or shelled and dried for soup. The colorful flowers combined with the deep violet pods hanging in foliar suspension brightened my spring vegetable garden so much, I will plant many more throughout the entire garden in the late summer, but for those of you who live where winters are frosty, wait until early spring. Whether they are called Blauschokker or Blauwschokker, these peas will be sure to please.