Wow! does this weather make me want to dig in the dirt!!! I walked around the farm today and looked at the garden beds that need to be "cleaned" and could hardly resist the temptation. But, all that

"left-over" plantings and mulches need to stay. February and March can be nasty winter months in Nebraska and the gardens need the protection for a while longer.

BUT, I did finish ripping down all the vine from last seasons Purple Hyacinth Runner Bean.

I get so many questions about this vine that I thought I'd share this from one of my fave bloggers

George Weigel .

www.georgeweigel.net

Purple hyacinth bean

Purple pods and purplish-pink flowers of hyacinth beans.

* Common name: Purple hyacinth bean

* Botanical name: Lablab purpureus

* What it is: An annual vining, ornamental bean plant that produces pink-purple blossoms followed by reddish-purple pods that grow to the size and shape of limas. Leaves are heart-shaped with purplish veins and stems.

* Size: Can easily grow 8-10 feet up from direct-planted seed in a single season with support. Vigorous and beautiful!

* Where to use: Any sunny trellis or arbor. Erect netting in front of a large blank wall and these will cover it by late summer. Can reseed if beans mature and drop.

* Care: Plant transplants or seed in mid-May, have your supports in place, water and stand back. No maintenance if you’ve given them space. Yank when frost kills them. Save seeds from a few mature pods to plant next year.

* Great partner: Hot pink annuals at their feet, such as petunias or verbena.