Eva Barrows

In the classic holiday movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Clark Griswold, played by Chevy Chase, expects a considerable bonus from work but receives a Jelly of the Month Club subscription instead. Owner of Small Batch Jam Co. and jam maker Pablo Lugones credits the movie for an annual boost in Jam of the Month Club subscriptions. “I couldn’t have anticipated the holiday seasonality of gift- giving rituals for jam,” says Lugones.

We brew coffee beans, scrape fresh vanilla beans into dessert batter and simmer cannellini beans for hearty soups. On the surface, these beans have obvious similarities, but the truth is, some things we call beans aren’t beans at all. So what is a bean, exactly? Beans are products of the Fabaceae plant family. The fruit—or vessels containing seeds—of this family are called legumes, commonly referred to as pods. When ripe, the elongated legume pod splits along its edges to release its seeds.

By Eva Barrows | Photography By Coline LeConte | Spring 2025 Strolling through a blooming garden on a sunny day or just after a refreshing rain is a restorative experience. The fragrant garden invites visitors to pass through slowly or relax on a bench to take it all in. Beyond the beauty found amongst garden foliage, deeper nature-driven cycles are at work, especially within gardens intentionally filled with native plant varieties.