I had a bit of a surprise last night when I went to shut up the greenhouse. There was a wonderful perfume in the air. It didn’t take too long to work out where the fragrance was coming from, there’s not a lot in flower in the greenhouse right now, but I was a little surprised when I realised the origin.
My broad beans that I really grow for extra leaves in early salads are in full flower now and look amazing, but I never really realised that the flowers were scented.
It’s a lovely soft sweet smell and was actually quite strong, probably as there are quite a few plants in there now.
I’ve been harvesting the fleshy leaves for weeks as they are a tasty addition to salads and quickly bulk up the bowlful if I am short on other things.
I will let them pod up now as I love baby broad beans in risottos and there’s nothing better than fresh homegrown ones. I may even sow some more for a continuous crop of leaves and a later crop of pods.
Delicious.
