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Runner beans are a colorful addition to the garden

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GARDEN JOURNAL

She defeated the Spanish Armada, was famous for the arts, including the rise of Shakespeare and Marlowe, but it was her heavy make-up of white chalk and rouge that gave Queen Elizabeth I the name "Painted Lady." The term "painted lady" went on to describe the garishly painted three-colored Victorian homes of San Francisco, and in the garden, one of the oldest and most colorful flowering beans, the red and white flowered runner bean, Painted Lady (Phaseolus coc-cineus).

Runner beans are native to central America and have grown here and abroad since the 15th century.

In addition to Painted Lady, there is the familiar red-blossomed Scarlet Runner, the peach-colored Apricot Runner and the soft pastel pink Sunset Runner. Enorma is known for its huge, foot-long bean pods.

All runner beans have a more pronounced flavor than regular beans.

These nutritious beans can be eaten green in the pods like string beans, freshly shelled as "shelly" beans or dried for use as baked beans or soup beans. You can even eat the flowers.

As the name implies, runner beans climb up to 10 or 12 feet tall, so you will need strong support.

You can put a single pole in the ground and run strings of twine from the top of the pole and hold into the ground a few feet from the pole base. You can also make a circle of poles with their top ends tied together and let the beans climb the poles.

Finally, you can do what many gardeners do and simply plant the beans along a sturdy wall or fence and let the vines climb or run up the fence.

Runner beans like light and airy soil and do best with a soil pH level of between 5.5 and 7.0. Plant in full sun. Do not use nitrogen fertilizers, as this will result in many leaves and few flowers or beans. Flowering and development of bean pods is often poor once temperatures exceed 90 F. A mulch and regular watering will keep the soil from drying out and encourage production even during hot weather.

Since runner beans use bacteria to fix nitrogen from the air, it helps to introduce those bacteria before planting. Simply dust runner bean seeds with powdered innoculants available at any seed store or nursery.

Plant the large seeds about one inch deep, four to eight inches apart. Runner beans will not germinate in cold, wet soil, so wait until all danger of frost is past and the soil has warmed up.

Pick the beans when they are young and tender; older beans can become stringy and tough. To keep new beans growing all season, be sure to regularly pick all ripe pods.

Runner bean seeds are widely available locally and through specialty seed companies such as Seed Savers Exchange (www.seedsavers.org) or Baker Creek Seeds (www.rareseeds.com).

Remarkably, runner beans often bloom in as little as 60 days, so you can plant them later in the spring or early summer and still have flowers and beans.

Runner beans with red flowers, pink flowers, salmon flowers and even two tones can brighten your garden, enliven your dinners, and give you a glimpse into historic Elizabethan England. No chalky makeup or rouge required.

Paul Barbano writes about gardening from his home in Rehoboth Beach. Contact him by writing to P.O. Box 213, Lewes, DE19958.





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