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Hyacinth beans

Posted by Bean_counter_z4 Zone 4, Rkfd,IL (My Page) on
Thu, Sep 8, 05 at 11:13

Hi everyone. I have a lot of hyacinth bean pods this year and I wondered if anyone dries them for fall arrangements. Will they lose that wonderful color? I would appreciate any suggestions you have for collecting and using them.

Also, how about those big old locust tree pods. They are kind of unusual with a graceful curved shape but I can't decide how to incorporate them into arrangements.


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: Hyacinth beans

Cramer's sells them, and they seem to have lost most of their color, retaining the red/purple only along the edges. They still look interesting, though.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cramer's Posies


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RE: Hyacinth beans

Beancounter,

For my indoor dried arrangements, I never paint or dye anything. However, when I do my big outdoor evergreen wreaths for winter (I make them 6 feet across) or my huge garlands, I love adding a few gilded touches, so I spray paint catalpa pods, locust pods, lotus pods, and any other pods I find interesting with gold and/or silver paint and wire them into a base of mixed evergreens. I sometimes arrange the catalpa and locust pods into free form spiral star shapes to add more interest, or wire them from end to end to create strands and loops. Then, to really go over the top, I incorporate white or gold light strands which reflect the architectural shape of the pods.

I hope I didn't sound like something from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" with this most likely too-detailed description, but I really love my pods.

Kate


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RE: Hyacinth beans

Neil Allen, thanks for the link. Mine look different, but that answers my question about using them.

Kate, I love your holiday ideas for locust pods. I'll try spraying some for outdoor wreaths. Maybe even dangle a few gilded ones from Christmas tree branches.

Thanks both


 
 

 

 


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