Six varieties hand-picked by me from Mr Fothergill’s
The best beans for UK gardens appear in Mr Fothergill’s seed catalogue, whether runners, broad, French, climbing or dwarf. These six caught my eye for sheer variety and versatility. For more information, visit my growing runners page and here’s more on broad and French varieties. Read more about flower and veg seeds sent to Syrian refugees.
The best beans for UK gardens – Runner Aurora
Exclusive runner Aurora bears pink flowers and produces self-setting pods. British-bred, it produces an abundant crop of usually stringless, succulent pods, whether conditions are cool or hot and dry in our unpredictable summers.
Broad bean Eleonora
Organic Eleonora has five juicy, tasty beans per pod. Fast-growing and not too tall, Eleonora is a good choice for windy sites.
The best beans for UK gardens – Dwarf Coco Noir Starazagorski
Reintroduced dwarf variety Coco Noir Starazagorski can be eaten young as sliced green beans or left to mature, and the black beans shelled as haricots.
Runner bean Guinness Record
Exclusive runner Guinness Record bears exhibition-quality long, smooth, tasty, slender pods up to 45cm (18in) from July to October. The vigorous, red-flowered plants are resistant to all viruses.
The best beans for UK gardens – Runner Snowdrift
Runner Snowdrift is a white-flowered variety, less prone to bird attack than scarlet-flowered ones. Pods set reliably in cold or hot and dry conditions, helping to ensure a good harvest.
Climbing bean Python
Also exclusively from Mr Fothergill’s is pencil-podded climbing bean Python. Its uniform, succulent pods, up to 15cm (6in) long, are produced abundantly through a long summer cropping season and into autumn.
Visit my post on beans cropping all summer. If you like your crops with different colours, here’s one about my surprise purple-podded runners. For more information, current prices and availability, visit www.mr-fothergills.co.uk.
