A bean broadside

This is the second year I have grown broad beans... again, not to any great scale (like the peas), but just for enjoyment's sake... I have four plants in a trough container.

I'm growing the Bunyards Exhibition variety - and if I'm honest, I don't know what that means - as long as the plants produce a lot of pods, I'm happy!

I've found both times that I've grown broad beans that I get a lot of flowers, but the ones that open first toward the base of the plant all fall off... It seems that only the higher ones turn into the pods...

Another empty flower stem... why?

I'm in the dark as to why this is... this year especially there has been enough pollenating traffic from bees (we appear to have a nest under our shed), so it's not as though they miss out...

Thankfully, and not like last year, an unprecedented number of flowers higher up the plants are turning to pods, so as long as I keep them watered and fed, I should get a decent batch...!

I've pinched out the top of the plants as you're supposed to - I just wonder whether in order to get some really good beans, you have to thin some of the successful flowers... oh the agony of choice - any practical advice greatly appreciated...

A cluster of pods poking through the dead flower heads

As ever with growing, if you mess it up at least you know not to do it again next year...