f all the sweet peas, ‘Cupani’ is probably the most fragrant. This old-fashioned, short-stemmed variety has modest yet beguiling cerise and purple petals, and renowned breeder Roger Parsons gives it a score of six out of six for scent. It’s reputed to be the original sweet pea sent in 1699 by Francesco Cupani, Sicilian monk and naturalist, to a cleric, Dr Robert Uvedale of Middlesex. “Actually, it was introduced in
