On Saturday we went for a walk in Weldrake Woods near York. It was a real 'sharp intake of breath' moment when we spotted these.
There was a huge patch of Doronicum, or Leopard's Bane. I've seen it growing wild only rarely and then as just a plant or two. This great carpet of flowers was stunning. (Must work too - not a leopard in site!)
I've finally braced myself and put out some of the climbing beans. I have planted out Bird's Egg for drying and these are the self fertile runner bean Moonlight. I grew them last year thanks to a donation from a friend and they were delightful in flavour and there was no problem with setting. Runners are usually dreadful for simply dropping flowers with no bean set. I feel in my water that they would make a good 'cannelini' type bean for drying too.
Some of the Purple Mangetout project seem to be coming up with the goods. I have several like this but it remains to be seen if they produce true mangetout peas, that is, without any tough membrane inside. So far I think I have a few with green pods but it's a bit early to tell as they can darken as they grow. This is a cracker though.If they are mangeout, then it's still possible that they carry a gene for white flowers and green pods recessively. Next year I shall ditch the whole batch from any that show even a single plant with no purple in the shoots. You've got to be hard!
7 comments:
That's exciting, can't wait to discover if you've done it. They do look pretty, don't they? Will they stay that colour when cooked? My beans are just starting to germinate in pots so it'll be another week or two before they go out.
They lose colour on cooking Jo. The colouring substance - an anti-oxidant called anthocyanin - is water soluble. However, they are delicious fresh and crunchy in a salad where they add colour, texture AND health benefits!
The colour is amazing!! :0)
Martin
Wonderful looking pod, Jan. I hadn't thought about growing mange tout but your description of them in salad ... yum!
The Leopard's Bane is a wonderful find, lucky you.
I'm hoping to put peas and beans outside this weekend. It has been so cold throughout May that the peas have been sitting sulking in their pots growing very little. I don't currently have a huge amount of confidence for this year's harvest.
I didn't know that there was a self setting runner bean, Flum - they came true, then? (any if they are yummy, could a be cheeky and bag a few from this year's harvest to have a go with next year?)
You can certainly have some Hazel - it's called Moonlight. I think it's in the Thompson and Morgan catalogue if you want to read about it.
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