Bean

Originating in England and dating back to the 1930s, the Good Mother Stallard dried bean embodies the living heritage of heirloom seeds, carefully preserved and shared over time. It is prized for its red and white striped beans, which are as elegant as they are nutritious.

In the garden, this climbing variety offers vigorous growth and great hardiness. It requires good support to reach its full height and display its long pods, each containing 5 to 6 beans. It blooms in late summer and provides a generous harvest of dry beans with a creamy texture and a robust flavor. Naturally enriching the soil through nitrogen fixation, Good Mother Stallard is an excellent choice for gardeners seeking self-sufficiency and diversity.

Born from the millennia-old agricultural heritage of the Andes and adapted to the needs of modern gardeners, the Henderson Bush Lima Bean embodies the alliance between nourishing tradition and ease of cultivation. Its compact, bushy shape, requiring no staking, makes it an ideal choice for small gardens, container gardening, or urban vegetable patches.

This old cultivar, introduced to North America in the late 19th century, is prized for its hardiness, drought tolerance, and continuous production. It thrives in light, well-drained soils under ample sunshine, where it forms a dense ground cover that protects the soil. Its inconspicuous flowers herald full pods, each containing up to four plump, melt-in-your-mouth seeds.

An ideal companion plant, it enriches the soil with nitrogen, promotes microbial biodiversity, and embodies a form of sustainable and resilient food crop, perfectly integrated into a nourishing ecological garden.

Native to central and eastern North America, the ground-climbing bean, also called bracteole amphicarpus , is a graceful and unique plant belonging to the Fabaceae family.

A perennial with flexible growth and twining stems, it clings to natural structures or neighboring plants in the garden, rising with a confident lightness. It is perfectly at home in shady corners, damp edges, or transitional gardens, where it integrates effortlessly into the cycle of life.

Its unique botanical feature lies in its dual fruiting: inedible aerial pods and edible underground seeds resembling small peas. It enriches the soil with nitrogen and promotes a thriving root system. A perfect partner for permaculture, it combines discretion, hardiness, and resilience, while supporting valuable biodiversity.

Native to North America, the ground bean ( Apios americana ) is a perennial legume that develops strings of edible tubers along its roots. A climbing vine, it clings flexibly to available supports and creates a tranquil presence in the vegetable garden or kitchen garden.

Its delicate, compound foliage, typical of the Fabaceae family, forms a green ground cover that accompanies the changing seasons. Its flowers, clustered in dense bunches ranging from brownish-pink to purple, add an unexpected and subtle ornamental touch. In cool, well-drained soil, the ground bean thrives for several years, yielding, over time, a harvest of rich and nutritious tubers.

In a harmonious garden, this plant contributes to biodiversity while providing food through an age-old practice: gently lifting the tubers at the end of the growing season, leaving enough to ensure the plant's return the following year. A hardy and valuable companion for a nourishing space rooted in the natural cycle.