THE BEANS OF YOUR DREAMS

Beans of all sorts, with their amazing range of colours, shapes, sizes and flavours, are one of Pippa Rosen’s passions. She has well over 100 varieties of French bean – some used for their tender pods, some for their soft, freshly shelled seeds and others for seeds that are dried and stored for winter recipes.

Her beany addiction began more than 30 years ago when she tried a few unusual types from Garden Organic’s Heritage Seed Library. Now she runs a flourishing seed company specialising in organic beans and herbs, and she grows all the unusual types herself – either in her half-acre garden or on her allotment in nearby Warminster. “Beans are an excellent source of protein and are extremely productive,”