Fresh From the Garden

"I'll trade you for some of my purple bush bean seeds." a sweet friend from church told me this spring when mentioned that I'd be bringing some PGTips tea for her to try the following Sunday.

Purple bush beans? I never heard of those.

My friend Shannon told me how well they do in her garden and since I like gardening so much, I'd probably enjoy trying them. Unlike green beans they don't need poling, staking, or fencing in order to climb, these purple ones grow about a foot or so tall and stay put. That was already a plus because I have no supplies in which to pole, stake, or fence (though I use tomato cages for my tomatoes). My friend also said that the purple beans tend to be a little bit sweeter than the green ones, and this is the plus side if one is still apprehensive about eating a purple bean: when cooked, they turn green.

She gave me an envelope of seeds, and I used half of the space that I would normally use for my peas (I had very few dried peas to plant since a member of the family threw my seeds out last year, not knowing that they were. I'm the only one that gardens in the family, you see) so it worked out anyway.

The plants grew a foot tall with beautiful foliage and it was nearing the first of June with no signs of flowering. I began wondering if I'd get anything at all. Finally some pretty little purple flowers appeared and all of a sudden, I have beans growing!

This morning I did my first picking, and there are many more little ones growing, and many more flowers on the bushes, so I know it won't be the last. I have a feeling that next year I'll be planting more of these. :)

What's yielding the fruits of your labor in your garden this week? Have any of my readers grown purple bush beans?