Runner Beans 2007

I made my first seed purchase for my Summer Garden 2007. I have been disappointed the past few years with my inability to find runner beans in my local garden shops. I was first introduced to runner beans when we lived in England. These are fabulous green beans which start out as bright red and white flowers and turn into long, flat green beans. When I first saw them in the grocery stores in Surrey, I avoided purchasing them. They were so long (12 inches sometimes) and thick, I was sure they would be very tough. However, when shopping one day, another customer told me how wonderful these beans were. I tried them and loved them so much, I included them in my garden. Here is the beauty of these visually lovely beans. You get so much yield from one blossom. Twelve inches of tender bean!

When I first moved to California, I found Renee's Garden seeds were carried in my local nursery and she produced a seed for the runner bean. However, the nursery no longer carries this seed. So today I went to Renee's Garden web site and purchased a packet of seeds. While I was there I also purchased a deep midnight green zucchini seed as well as two varieties of cucumbers.


One of the many things I like about Renee's Garden seeds is the cleverness of her seed packages. For example, one of my favorite bean seeds she produces is a tricolor package. The beans which grow are green, yellow and purple. They really create a lovely visual garden as well as being tastey. (Note: The purple beans do turn to green when they are cooked, however.)

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Pictures from Renee's Garden