Climbing French Bean: Kew Blue
The purple-pink flowers are complemented by purple-tinged leaves and stems, and followed by flat purple pods. These pods have excellent flavour, perfect for eating fresh or freezing. Dried beans have a rich, nutty flavour.
Approx 60 seeds per pack. Kew Blue climbing French bean seed grown in Wales by producer Chris Vernon. Stewarded by Garden Organic’s Heritage Seed Library.
This variety is registered as a amateur variety.
Climbing French Bean: Melbourne’s Mini
Melbourne’s Mini french bean is a unique variety from an allotment holder called Syd who grew and saved the seed for over 30 years. Having originally grown these beans in Sussex, Syd brought them to Wales where they continued to adapt and flourish for him. Donated to the community group Dyfi Valley Seed Savers, this seed is now available to buy from the Wales Seed Hub.
Vigorous plants with creamy white flowers, they produce prolific crops of short tender green beans. When left to mature, the small white seeds are equally good for drying and cooking
Seed Story: A reliable and versatile French bean with creamy white flowers and prolific crops of short tender green beans. If pods are left to mature, the small white seeds are excellent used fresh or dried in soups and casseroles. Allotment holder Syd Melbourne grew and saved this variety for over 30 years before donating it to the Welsh community group Dyfi Valley Seed Savers in 2010 – it has been popular with mid Wales gardeners ever since. If you only want to grow one French bean, try this one!
Approx 60 seeds per pack. Stewarded by Garden Organic’s Heritage Seed Library. Grown by Sue Stickland and volunteers at Cultivate Community Garden in Mid Wales.
Climbing French Bean: District Nurse
This variety of the Italian borlotti bean is suited to the cool, wet climate of Wales. Tall and bushy with pretty lilac flowers and pods splashed with dark purple. Can be eaten young and tender, or dried and used in winter soups and casseroles.
Approx 70 seeds per pack. Stewarded by Garden Organic’s Heritage Seed Library. Grown by Wales Seed Hub member Carolyn Moody on her smallholding in Pontyates.
Seed Story: Drying beans are great, as they’re a fantastic source of protein, especially if you’re following a plant based diet. They’re tasty, healthy and can be stored for a long time without the need for complicated, high energy processing. You can dry pretty much any bean, but borlottis are my personal favourite as they’re not too big and have thin skins which means a velvety smooth texture when you cook with them later on. They’re great in soups, casseroles and chillies, and in my opinion, make the ultimate home made baked beans. They look fantastic in your garden, with their mottled coloured pods; and the speckled beans themselves are beautiful. A friend of mine once said they look like tiny dragons’ eggs!
This particular Welsh variety of the Italian borlotti is suited to our cool, wet climate here in the south west. Back in the late 1900s an old lady in Cardiff gave some seeds to her district nurse, and the variety has been kept alive by local gardeners ever since, gradually adapting to the climate. It is now only available in seed libraries and from a handful of small seed companies. The plants themselves are tall and bushy with lime green leaves, pretty lilac flowers and pods splashed with dark purple.
Because drying beans take longer to fully mature on the plant, they’re best started off early, indoors in April. Plant out about 6-8” apart. once all risk of frost has passed and he soil is warming up, after first hardening off. Like other climbing beans, they’ll need strings or long canes to wind themselves around.
Climbing French Bean: Cosse Violette
Not available 2023, sorry!
Lavender flowers are followed by deep purple pods on this heavy cropping climbing french bean. Early to produce and continues for many weeks during the summer. Stringless purple pods turn dark green on cooking.
Approx 60 seeds per pack. Cosse Violette French bean seed grown in Wales by producer Chris Vernon.
Climbing French Bean: Pea Bean
Not available 2023, sorry!
The French Bean that is like a pea! Beautiful ‘yin yang’ colouring on the seeds.
This is a climbing bean with pale yellow/white flowers. The Pea Bean produces flat pods of unusual pea shaped beans that are purple and cream coloured, fantastic nutty flavour when cooked, use beans fresh or dried in soups and stews.
Approx 60 seeds per pack. Stewarded by Garden Organic’s Heritage Seed Library. Grown by Wales Seed Hub member Neil Moyse on his One Planet smallholding in Wales.
Why not save your own seeds!? All our seeds are open pollinated, non-hybrid varieties.
See our seed saving guidelines here: Save Your Own Seeds
Seed grown using agroecological principles. We are licenced to sell seed and issue plant passports. Reg number: 7710.