I was disappointed, to say the least, when I podded some of my Violetta broad beans a couple of weeks ago, to find they were all a very pale green. I went back to the catalogue and read that they are purple when mature. I picked and shelled more yesterday - photo of the first few pods above. As you can see, the purple colouration is rare and to be honest, these are more mature than I like to eat them. The scar is black and that is a sign they are over mature to me. I won't bother growing these again. By contrast, we had some Red Epicure, red seeded broad beans, last week which were a pinky-red when shelled and a deep plum colour when steamed. The flavour was great too, so these are going to be a regular. Today we will be trying the crimson flowered beans. They are just coming right for eating, having gone in a little later than all the others (and in the flower border to try to maintain the seeds.)
Here's the flower border in question. Last year it was full of overgrown shrubs and apart from the dark, terracotta coloured day lily over on the right, all these were sown this year as hardy and half hardy annuals. It had been really successful (the broadies are just to the right of the sweet peas) and has provided lots of cut flowers. It's just to the right of the drive as you approach the house and has given me a completely new bit of garden! Over the next few years I'll introduce a few perennials so it isn't so high maintenance, but the emphasis will still be on flowers to cut for the house, but that also gives me something nice to look at from the front window.
5 comments:
I hope you like the crimson flowered broad beans. I've found the beans stay a bright green rather than grey-green when cooked and the skin is thinner and rarely needs removing,
Isn't it fun tor try different varieties!
Celia
I've just podded some for the evening meal. They have only 3 or maybe 4 beans per pod but they are the most gorgeous bright green - like jewels. I'm glad to hear they keep their colour. Looking forward to the flavour!
Yes, it's great fun. I can't understand people growing the same thing year after year.
I loved the crimson flowered broadies - they kept their colour on cooking too. I'm glad that I kept some separate to save for seed.
Those flowers are pretty, do the sweet peas smell as lovely as they look? I have a vague and distant recollection of flowers - we used to have some of them in the old house, Fangorn Forest doesn't (as yet) do flowers!
The sweet peas do smell gorgeous Bilbo, but they only last about 4 days in the house. I still pick them though becasue it increases the flowering if you don't let them set seed.
I think that both crimson flowered broad beans and salmon flowered peas will have a place in the flower borders next year Hazel!
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