I love big fat runner beans like Runner Cannellini and Scarlet Runners. They are meaty and often exude a delicious pot liquor. They are great in a chile sauce, with wild mushrooms or just topped with olive oil and a dry cheese. When I got these seeds from the Seed Savers Exchange, I was pretty thrilled, but in the garden, they were the last beans to germinate and I assumed they were a lost cause.

Just as I was giving up, they plants emerged and eventually were the first to flower.

What a great color on these flowers! I love the look of cheap lipstick . They also were the first to bear pods.

The beans are very wild looking, with the occasional fluke in all black or all white. If we could grow these commercially, I think we'd have a winner.