The House
Gardens and Grounds
The Plantation




In Bloom




Hyacinth Bean -- Dolichos lablab
Growth Type: Annual
Hardiness Zones: 1 - 10
Location at Monticello: Vegetable Garden
Planting Conditions: Full Sun
Hyacinth Bean
Dolichos lablab

The Hyacinth Bean is featured on the arbor in the Monticello vegetable garden and draws countless questions from visitors every year. In the Garden Book in 1812 Jefferson mentioned, "Arbor beans white, scarlet, crimson, purple . . . on the long walk of the garden." This tender annual vine grows to twenty feet and produces attractive purplish-green leaves, showy rose-purple flowers and pods, and unusual black and white seeds. Although not mentioned by Jefferson, Hyacinth Bean was sold by his favorite nurseryman, Bernard McMahon, in 1804.

Check Monticello's on-line shops for seeds or plants of Hyacinth Bean.