OH MY! Simply stunning! Now you've got me thinking flowers more... LOL! That Purple Hyacinth Vine is gorgeous too, will it come back next year on it's own?

Beth

Oh, man, that's right up my alley! I love "wild" looking areas (as opposed to the more manicured type). This is EXACTLY the type of look I'd love to do on our place. I'm taking notes. LOL

Diane

Me too, Diane... Me too! :)

I love those hyacinth's. I think I'm going to have to get me some now! I have been wanting an arched trellis and that would be beautiful on it. Thanks for the idea and your flowers are just amazing!
melissa

You may be surprised, Glenda. Both my neighbor and I have grown Hyacinth Bean and it reseeds on its own quite prolifically. Course you are north of me so maybe it won't, but I usually find myself, and so does Ralph, pulling up seedlings.

Lovely garden you have.

Susan

Glenda,

Your flower beds are stunningly gorgeous! You should be very proud.

I simply love Hyacinth Bean vine. One year I grew it on the east fence of the veggie garden and it climbed from the fence to the 14' tall broom corn and made a spectacular jungle that stopped trafic. That was around 2003 or maybe 2004.

Beth,

Sometimes I get some hyacinth bean volunteers from beans that fell before I collected seed (and maybe I'll get some next year because I didn't get the seeds collected before the first freeze hit). They aren't perennial in our zones so self-sown volunteers are your only hope of having the plant 'come back'....either that, or starting new seeds each year. Usually, I'll get a volunteer seedling or 2 or 3 in the spring if we had a pretty dry and mild winter. If we have a cold and wet winter, the beans rot and I don't get volunteers.

Melissa, It is a monster plant so if you are going to plant it on an arch you intend to walk beneath, make your arch 7 or 8feet tall or you'll get slapped in the head by drooping vines by the end of the summer. (Ask me how I figured that one out......and the answer is that my arch is only 6' tall and the heavy vines 'sag' and can become difficult to duck beneath.)

Dawn

In looking for the salvia seeds, I found a damp package of the hyacinth been with two moldy looking seeds left. I think I will try to plant them next spring. I don't think any of mine even got to the filled pod stage except the two pods I harvested. I gave my sis a couple of those and have two left. That should be plenty. They were planted to hide the compost pile so they will find a good home if any did drop.

Now I am looking at those dead vines and wondering how on earth I will get them off the fence. They are like pencil sized wood...I can't even pull them off. I think pruners will have to be used.

Glenda,

I hate removing the dead vines. Sometimes I leave them on the woven wire fencing until they are exceptionally dry and cracking and then I use a stiff wire brush to 'rub' them off the fence. In a perfect world, the vines would merely dissolve in the rain...or the deer would come eat them. Unfortunately, it is not a perfect world.

Dawn

My hyacinth beans reseed but mine aren't as pretty as yours. I had one in a pot last year that climbed a trellis; another climbs a metal arch. I need to give mine some compost.

I have been known to leave them and just plant a new crop right over them! I am a Ruth Stout kind of gardener!

I did pull down the scratchy cucumber vines though, they looked so ugly I couldn't stand it.

Helen, I do suspect it was the compost pile which is really just a pile of kitchen waste, lots of coffee grounds and little shovel or two of soil rarely tossed on only when the composting was getting a little ripe! Like with melon rinds drawing the flying things. I planted one on the corner by the birdhouse pole and it was not nearly as lush. I just realized why with this discussion! Use some of that manure pile your friend has accumulated for you; that should really get it going.

So my next question is if those are hyacinth bean vines, do they produce edible beans? Just wondering. I don't want them for the beans, just for the plant and flowers bcz I think they are beautiful!! My husband has a concrete business and so I'm going to see if I can talk him into making me some concrete planters and somehow adding a trellis into the concrete so it and the planters would more or less be one. That way the trellis won't be so apt to come out of the ground. It may not sound like a good idea to him, but it sounds great to me!! =)

You can eat them, more or less. In some nations they eat the hyacinth bean plant's leaf, flower, pod, seed and or root with no toxicity problems. However, the dried beans can have toxic side effects if not prepared properly. Proper preparation involves changing and discarding the water and I think you're supposed to do that several times.

In some places with ethnic groceries, you can buy them in the frozen food department.

Now, the question is, do you want to eat them? I don't. It is so easy to grow all kinds of wonderful beans that taste good and don't require all that boiling/draining of the water and then boiling again. Some people like the way they taste, but most people I know who've tried them really did not care for their flavor or appearance after all that boiling.

so ....ok, I've been reading and keeping up with everyone in between holiday preparations and this FREAKING BLIZZARD! ugh....

But if anyone wants seeds, I've got TONS! And I'll have starts for the spring swap too! I've collected them after a freeze and they still do well. Even had many, many volunteers. So far I only have a plentiful supply of the purple. I'm saving all 10 of the white for myself (selfish, aren't I? LOL).

Just send me an e-mail and as soon as it thaws, I'll get them to you!

Paula

Paula,
I would love some seeds if you have some extra. Is there anything that you are wanting? I have lots of veggies and some flowers. Just let me know.
thanks,
melissa

Paula, I would like to have a few as well, if you have extra. Thanks. Carol

Carol & Melissa - send me your address! I've got plenty to share! I just LOVE THEM! Did you know they have a light smell of cinammon when they bloom?

Click on my member page to send me an email. Let me know if it gives you problems, I've had that happen before.

Paula

Paula, I have never noticed any scent at all on mine. Maybe different strains have odor, but then I can't small my petunias that are supposed to be fragrant...or the nicotiana....maybe my smeller has retired.

I can smell the basil and lavender and sage though.

Paula, Your GardenWeb email doesn't work. If you still have the envelope from the seed swap, then you have mine. If not, you can send me a note through my GardenWeb email, then I will send it. Thanks. Carol

Paula,
I would like some seed too, if you've still got it! If you send ME an email I'll get back to you with my address a.s.a.p.. I would be glad to pay the postage too! :)

Beth

dag nabit those garden gnomes! The keep messing with my e-mail!

Beth - you and I can just swap! I've already sent you an e-mail about your okra!

Carol - You're right, I DO have your address! I keep all those valuable e-mails!

Melissa - I'll get it fixed in case you're still interested!

Paula, I could probably trade you something also, but I don't have a list. Melissa just lives one town from me, so I could probably get hers to her.