Hyacinth Bean, Cherry Blossoms and Virtual Garden Tours

It’s great to know when a blog post is helpful in some way. So I was happy to hear from lots of you that last week’s tour of summer garden photos helped ease the pain of this long, cold winter. And I so appreciate everyone who wrote to help me identify those purple seed pods I posted. I was walking down an alley not far from my house last year and saw that plant poking up over the fence of someone’s backyard. I took a few photos of those pretty pods, hoping I could figure out what the plant was and, yes, you are all correct. It is Lablab purpureus, commonly known as hyacinth bean, Egyptian bean or Indian bean.

And the answer is: Hyacinth bean

The vine is native to the tropical areas of Africa where the flowers and beans are a food source. (I got varying reports from people about the actual tastiness of these beans, and some readers cautioned against eating the beans raw.) According to several plant history websites, hyacinth bean was introduced into the American nursery trade in the early 19th century after having been a part of European gardens as far back as the early 1700s.

The plant attach to structures by twining, so keep that in mind if you want to grow this vine. (It’s always good to know how a vine attaches to things because some have tendrils that are good at gripping trellises and chain link, some stick to things like stucco and others twine.) Plants are fast growing and can reach 6 to 15 feet or more in one year, depending on the length of the season. Choose a spot with well-drained soil in full sun. Many people warned me that seeds can be hard to find and/or in short supply in stores, so it might be easier to buy online.

And now, for this week’s winter getaway, how about a time-lapse cherry blossom extravaganza and a few virtual tours of botanical gardens around the world?

Click here to see the time-lapse video of cherry blossom time at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.

And go here to go on a lovely tour of the Montreal – Quebec Botanical Garden. (Normally, I would advise turning off the sound since the promotional nattering takes away from the scenes. But in this case, everyone is speaking French, which is actually quite nice, I thought.)

Or go here to visit the Missouri Botanical Garden. (No sound would be advised here.)

You’ll find a little peek at the Beijing Botanical Garden here. (Nice music and no narration, but did they need to put their copyright symbol in the middle of the frame?)

Think spring!