Ruby Moons

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

It seems that every time I go into a garden store, I cannot leave with just the sole item that drew me in the first place. This weekend's visit to the American Plant Food Company -- my first visit of the year -- was no exception.

I was in the hunt for bok choy seeds. Bok choy is a cool weather vegetable and I know I will have to plant the seeds early.

The problem (or rather, the guilty pleasure) with seed shopping is that I can't do it with blinders on. In my search for bok choy, I was pleasantly distracted by beans, borage, beets, and bachelor buttons. All the possibilities!

Inevitably, I walked away with a few extra selections: lobelia, romaine lettuce, and my favorite find of all -- Ruby Moon hyacinth beans. If I get these to grow, I will post a picture and you will see why I am so excited about these lovely legumes. Their pink, orchid-like flowers give way to shiny, deep purple pea pods. They are something exotic.

Michael and I saw these when we were in Gorham, New Hampshire last summer. They were growing on a trellis in a roadside cottage garden near the local tourist shops that sell all things moose-related. Had we not played tourists pondering the cuteness of kitschy moose paraphernalia, we never would have discovered these beans. We thought they would make a unique addition to our own garden, if ever we could find the seeds.

So now they are part of my seed stash, waiting for their time to come. But first, of course, the cool season vegetables. I did also find bok choy.