(Blue Lake Pole Bean, Pole Bean)

Slender, juicy, tender green wax beans are produced on the vigorous pole beans, ‘Blue Lake.’ The flavorful beans are produced on high-performing plants, yielding harvest-ready pods about 62 to 65 days after sowing seeds. Resistance to mosaic virus also makes this a more desirable bean variety for the garden. Popular in the United States for commercial canning, these sweet, meaty but stringless bean pods are excellent for fresh eating, canning or freezing.

Bean leaves are trifoliate (three-leaved),...

(Bountiful Green Bean, Bush Bean, Green Bean)

The heavy producing 'Bountiful' bears many brittle, stringless, green pods about 6 to 7 inches (15 to 18 cm) long. Initially it was known as 'New Green Bush Bean No. 1', this heirloom bush bean variety was renamed thanks to Abel Steele of Ferguson, Ontario. In 1898 it was first sold commercially by Peter Henderson & Company. Though a snap bean variety, its dried beans are also ornate and tasty. Expect to begin harvesting beans only 45 to 50 days after sowing the seeds in spring.

Bean leaves are...

(Brockton Horticultural Shelling Bean, Pole Bean, Shelling Bean)

Red-striped green pods are the highlight of the heirloom shelling bean, 'Brockton Horticultural'. Introduced in 1885, it was first sold by the Aaron Low Seed Company, which obtained it from a market gardener in Brockton, Massachusetts. The beans grow on tall, vining plants and have colorful pods filled with even more colorful beans with a nutty flavor. The seeds are tan splattered with dots and smears of mahogany red. Mature, dry bean pods are ready for harvest about 85 days after sowing.

Bean...

(Bumble Bee Shelling Bean, Heirloom Bush Bean, Shelling Bean)

A bush bean grown for its highly nutritious dry seeds, 'Bumble Bee' beans also colorful and ornate. An heirloom selection from Maine, the 5-inch-long bean pods yield three to five large white seeds. A random black-maroon blotch develops around each seed's eye. Don't pick the pods prematurely to eat, but instead allow them to fully mature on plants about 85 to 98 days after sowing seeds in spring.

Bean leaves are trifoliate (three-leaved), arranged in an alternate fashion on the stem and have...

(Burpee's Stringless Green Bean, Bush Bean, Green Bean)

At the turn of the 20th century, 'Burpee's Stringless' was hailed as the only stringless green pod bean. Gardeners of the time reveled in picking the 5-inch-long (13 centimeter) pods and not having to worry about the pod string that made quartering the pods so awkward and annoying when making dinner. This heirloom bush bean variety was introduced in 1894 by the W. Atlas Burpee Seed Company. Expect to begin harvesting green snap beans 46 to 50 days after sowing the seeds in the garden.

Bean leaves...

(Bush Bean, Calypso Shelling Bean, Shelling Bean)

The seeds of 'Calypso' beans are colored like Holstein cows or killer whales with white and black blotches. This heirloom shelling bush bean from the Caribbean is also sometimes called 'Yin Yang.' Don't pick the pods to eat, but instead allow them to fully mature and dry. The pods are ready to harvest about 70 to 90 days after sowing seeds.

Bean leaves are trifoliate (three-leaved), arranged in an alternate fashion on the stem and have somewhat diamond-shaped leaflets. The flowers are typical...

(Cherokee Trail of Tears Pole Bean, Green Bean, Pole Bean)

This Native American heirloom bean is rich in history, humility and survival. 'Cherokee Trail of Tears' - also known as 'Cherokee Black' - was carried with the Cherokee people when they were expelled from Tennessee by the U.S. Government and forced to walk to Oklahoma in the late 1830s. The exiles preserved seeds of this pole bean as they forged the Trail of Tears. Immature bean pods were eaten as snap beans and/or the mature dry pod seeds were a protein source in soups or stews. Today, gardeners...

(Derby Green Bean, Green Bean)

A 1990 All-American Selection winner, ‘Derby’, produces rich, tender, long green pods on bushy plants. Its stringless beans are ready for harvest 53 to 57 days from sowing and are good for canning, freezing or fresh eating. Like many modern bean cultivars, ‘Derby’ is self-fertile.

After the danger of frost has passed, plant bush beans in full sun and fertile, evenly moist, well-drained garden loam. Seeds should be sown directly in the soil at a depth of about three times their width. Bush...

(Bush Bean, Dragon's Tongue Wax Bean, Wax Bean)

A productive plant with a compact bushy habit, 'Dragon's Tongue' is a Dutch heirloom wax bean that yields light creamy yellow pods with ornate purple flecks and streaks. Once boiled in water, the purple streaks bleach to pale yellow. The 6 to 8 inch long (15 to 20 centimeter) bean pods are wide and stringless. When eaten fresh, they have a unique flavor and crisp, juicy texture. Though most commonly considered a wax bean, the dry seeds can also be shelled and eaten. Expect to harvest fresh pods...

(French Pole Bean, Haricots Verts, Pole Bean)

The tall pole bean, ‘Emerite’, is a vigorous, heavy-bearing bean that produces tender, pencil thin green pods. These are produced early and are ready for harvest 58 to 65 days from sowing. Pick these French filet beans when young, slender and perfectly crisp. Like many modern bean cultivars, ‘Emerite’ is self-fertile.

After the danger of frost has passed, plant beans in full sun and fertile, evenly moist, well-drained garden loam. Seeds should be sown directly in the soil at a depth of about...