Sweet peas are among those seeds that do not have storage longevity, sorry. Regardless of the species, however, 25 years is a teensy bit too long to expect any kind of seed to remain viable, unless they are stored under the most ideal of conditions.

Expecting you to produce plants from those seeds is unreasonable. Why don't you suggest that those precious seeds be considered artifacts in and of themselves? Someone (YOU?) could do a little collage, utilizing pictures of G'ma, sweetpeas, and include the seeds.

Then, you can plant some new seeds in her memory. And I expect it is too late to plant them in your area. That gives you months and months to work on the collage, lol!

Sweet peas, as a matter of fact, do have longevity compared to a lot of seeds. Some can last as long as five years with normal keeping. This means cool and dry; or even freezing! However, 25 years is a long time. Why don't you try to plant one or two and see how they come along? You need to soak them overnight in tepid water and then plant right away. Yes, do this in the autumn; but since I do not know what part of the country you live in, it is hard to say exactly when you should plant. When the weather from summer cools down, but it is still mild out; you should plant. This can be anywhere from September to early November in some areas, and of course in early spring in those areas that have harsh winters. If they do germinate, you can enjoy the flowers and then let them go to seed later in the season. Then you can have seeds from the plants and keep the legacy going!

There is the chance however, that they are indeed too old; and you will have to choose what you wish to do.

well,all I know about how they were stored is that they were in an old medication bottel when saw them. My boyfriends mother dose have more, so if I do deside to plant them I wont be useing the only ones. In any cause it is too late to plant them now (I am in southern California, no harsh winters here) so I think I will waite untill fall and figure it out then. I know that there is a really good chance that they will not grow, but if I never try I will always wonder.
thanks guys for your thoughts and sujestions!!

I think you should try and also not feel pressure to make this work. To me it seems the better tribute to your husbands gardening ancestor would be to try and not have them germinate rather than keep them in an old vial. Really if you cant get them to grow it will be because someone sat on them for 25 years, not because of your gardening talents. I suspect the best bet for you is to try when it is getting cooler in fall. Soaking overnight will also probably help.