Different varieties of climbing beans are just starting to crop.
The secret of tasty and tender beans is to pick them while they are still small. This probably means going out every day and picking because they grow so quickly this time of year. Last night these beans were cooked for 5 minutes then tossed in butter and garlic! Yum!
These lovely thin beans are an old variety
Lazy Housewife. I first saw these growing down in Cornwall at the Lost gardens of Heligan. They were a popular variety in Victorian England.
Despite earlier setting problems these are the first runner bean
St George to get to eating size. It is especially important to pick runner beans when they are small and tender. You wait any longer and they are stringy and tough. This experience will put a child off eating them for life!
Another old heritage variety survived being eaten by my dog Buddy! These are
Mrs Fortune's climbing beans.
We've had a tiny amount of rain in the last couple of days but it just dries up immediately and does no good to the garden at all. You might remember to keep water in the birdbath for the birds but I have been noticing the number of honey bees drinking in my birdbath at the moment.
Most of the time now there are 3 or 4 bees at a time sitting on the wet edge of the birdbath drinking water. I assume they have been going back to their hive and doing their
'bee dance' telling the other bees where there is a supply of water.
Your birdbath is not just for the birds. Make sure there is a shallow, wet side for the insects as well.
The secret of tasty and tender beans is to pick them while they are still small. This probably means going out every day and picking because they grow so quickly this time of year. Last night these beans were cooked for 5 minutes then tossed in butter and garlic! Yum!
These lovely thin beans are an old variety Lazy Housewife. I first saw these growing down in Cornwall at the Lost gardens of Heligan. They were a popular variety in Victorian England.
Despite earlier setting problems these are the first runner bean St George to get to eating size. It is especially important to pick runner beans when they are small and tender. You wait any longer and they are stringy and tough. This experience will put a child off eating them for life!
Another old heritage variety survived being eaten by my dog Buddy! These are Mrs Fortune's climbing beans.
We've had a tiny amount of rain in the last couple of days but it just dries up immediately and does no good to the garden at all. You might remember to keep water in the birdbath for the birds but I have been noticing the number of honey bees drinking in my birdbath at the moment.
Most of the time now there are 3 or 4 bees at a time sitting on the wet edge of the birdbath drinking water. I assume they have been going back to their hive and doing their 'bee dance' telling the other bees where there is a supply of water.
Your birdbath is not just for the birds. Make sure there is a shallow, wet side for the insects as well.