Sugar Snap Pea, 100 seeds

To many, the arrival of the Sugar Snap harvest means summer is really here. And, it tastes like it! Crisp, crunchy, green, pea-flavored sweetness--terrific fresh or cooked quickly in the steamer or in stir-fries. This variety is the classic one: climbs sky-high on a trellis, yielding copious quantities of three-inch-long pods.

Peas are fun, fast, and can be sown at the first sign of spring. The pea shoots and climbing tendril-festooned vines keep you company throughout the many spring garden tasks--and provide beautiful flowers and delicious snappy crunchy bursts of summer's-finally-here.

Peas love cool weather, so sow them the first or second week of April. You can probably get away with plantings up to early May, but after this you're best off waiting until mid-summer (for a fall crop) or next spring.