I can't figgure what that last is all about.

MONTY PYTHON!!!

LUPINE SKETCH!!!

Very pretty. You have been working hard.

Quite lovely! I love the structure and colors.

(they won't be growing here due to the zone)

I just cut off the last flower spike of the lupines as it was going to seed. Pretty good run for flowers. Now I am hoping I get fall rebloom also. But I think the spring run was pretty good considering these are new first year plants.

Well, I may have been thrilled with that Lupine Garden last spring, in deed I was. But I am a lot less thrilled this spring. In the back of my mind I was thinking of adding to the Lupines this year but instead I have to go out to buy new ones to replace most of those that were already there. But we did have an unusually hot summer with record breaking heat spells last year. And 6 weeks of no rain in July. Of course I watered the Lupines everyday but its not the same as rain and rain cool things down.

So three of the plants in that grouping have come up. I have been watching closely and I am sure this is it, there is no sign of even dried out roots on most of the rest of them.

I am going to try again. I am going to go back to the nursery I bought these at and buy replacement plants for this section of garden. I doubt I will enlarge it though.

Hey,
I would be glad to plant them as annuals, but there aren't any here.
kay

Your lupines are so beautiful. Some colors come back longer than others, and all hate wet feet. I see I only have one left, and I noticed last month it was nearly up out of the ground from where a varmint must have tunneled under it. There was new green growth, so I pushed the plant back down into the soil; but the other day I checked and the whole thing was brown. I probably should have left it alone.

I will be buying new ones, too.

I am looking at it this way, at least some of them came back. And if it had been a normal summer weather and rain and temperature wise I think they would have been ok. They just are soooooooo pretty.

Besides the Lupine Garden, I had also planted a row of little lupine plants I ordered from Bluestone over on the other side of the house. They all came up this spring. Here is one of them.

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So since only afew of those Lupines in the Lupine garden came back this spring (and they are small plants no were near as big as they were last year when planted) yesterday I went out to the nursery were I bought the Lupines last year and bought 10 new ones. I just planted them right now. No pictures yet because they still have to be mulched which I am not going to do today. It's going to rain and I have other garden chores to do today before I finish up.

But in spite of my lack of success first thing this spring the Lupine garden is back.

I was early going to buy them as there are no flower stalks yet and last year the flowers showed color when I bought them. So I had to go by the color named on the tag. But even within the colors there is a variation so if you can see the blooms you can pick out the shades you like the best. But I was so worried that they would sell out (they did quickly last year) that I wanted them now so that I would have my Lupine Garden back. My nightmare was that I would go to find the plants all sold so early is better LOL!

I picked 4 of the blue, 4 of the red and two pink. I didn't have pink last year.

Soooooo pretty. All I have ever seen is the Texas bluebonnet.

Last year's photo was very beautiful. Hope your replacement lupines give you another beautiful bed.

I am pleased to see that my three ws (last year) lupines have come back and hope they have lots of blooms.

Did you watch the special on returning life to Mt. St. Helen's? The first sign of life in the barren area after the eruption was a lupine.

Just lovely, I haven't grown them in years. You really inspired me.

I really flipped for those Lupines when I saw some in bloom at that nursery last year. I missed the special, sorry.

I think I will just sit here and sulk!
kay

I look at my own pictures of the Lupines blooming last year and the lovely little Lupine Garden and you know that there was no way I wasn't going to go back out to that nursery and buy more plants for this spring to redo the garden. It will look a little different this year but I figgure it should look just as good.

By the way, I also bought little plants from American Meadows last year but those are gone, none left all died. The ones from Bluestone Perrenials were the ones I had great luck with overwintering, they are growing nicely this spring. Hope they bloom this spring.

So here it all planted, mulched and redone.

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Looks great. I can hardly wait to see them blooming!

Me too LOL! I think they should start at the end of this month. Maybe sooner.

I tried growing lupines last year but they melted away in the heat. Are there types that do well in the heat or in clay? Do lupines mind being crowded by other plants?

Lupines send down long tap roots. Plus they need good drainage. I would think they would rot in the clay.

They don't like excessive heat. We had record breaking heat last summer and six week spell (during heatwave) with no rain. I am sure thats why some of mine died on me. I am hopeful that this year will be more of a normal year and give the lupines a chance to get established.

They really like being out of their pots and in ground. Have really greened up and are growing like crazy.

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Bloom spikes are starting to show up!

The redone garden is really starting to bloom. Lots of pictires to add today.

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They are so beautiful! I wish we could grow them here. Thank you for sharing them with those of us in the hot areas.
Renee

Lovely. In NZ, there are fields and fields of them growing wild. I just love them.

Fields and fields of wild lupines, now that would be a sight to see :-))

For you, Rita:
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Oh my goodness! Stunning! I don't know what to say. I can't imagine walking thru a meadow like that and with the snow capped mountains in the backround. I expected wild lupines to be all blue ones or the purple blue but there are pink ones also.

There were also a few white ones. It was lovely. I finally insisted we stop at one meadow, so I could walk and take pictures (DS and DH also didn't understand my need for a picture of some of the 44 million sheep-teehee). Once we stopped, though, they were both entranced. This was near the 45th parallel as we were on our way to Milford Sound. I have been so tempted to try them here in Northern Virginia, but I know they would not survive our hot, humid summers. i will, therefore, live vicariously through you and enjoy your wonderful lupines!

Of couse you had to stop. Much too beautiful to pass up!

Lupines today-

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Those colors are incredible! I will never get tired of seeing pictures of your gardens-they are just wonderful!

Thanks! :-)) Those are just a very few of the bloom stalks. There are so many more that are not showing yet as they are still small, green and down in the folliage.

That lupine field pic is just stunning!

Actually, I remember last spring seeing these lupine pics on here and bemoaning the fact that I have no room left in my yard for making my own lupine bed. Now I'm despairing about it again... I just love them!

Just adding new pics from today to update my thread.

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Rita, thank you for sharing your photos. This is my first spring in a our new home in the country built last fall. I've started about 30 lupines this winter from spring and have planted about 20 now. 10 are reserved for a friend. Mine are tiny - this year from previous gardening experience I expect only green growth as the roots establish.

I LOVE your photos and really appreciate the update this spring. I've grown lupines where ever I lived. Even if a few. They are so rewarding.

You've inspired me to get back at digging out old roots from the hillside and get gardening some more.

Cheers,
Peggy in Ontario Canada
Zone 5b

Thanks, Peggy. I did love the Lupine Garden Last year but it has turned out even better this year. They are such beautiful plants.

I am sure your little guys will be blooming size next spring. When I put in little plants last spring, they only grew but no blooms that first year.

Many have gone to seed now so they don't look as good as they did. Still pretty though.

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They are stunning!!! I would love to grow lupins this year - yours are so healthy and happy. It was a joy looking at the pictures - thanks, Rita!

I have a chance to purchase Lupine seeds at discount in bulk with free shipping (very tempting!) from Eden Brothers. They offer a variety of them - annuals, perennials, wild ones, etc. Which are the toughest and tallest?
Thanks!
Natalie

Rita, I have purchased a bunch of various Lupine seeds - you've inspired me! Will plant them soon, as soon as I figure out the best time and way to direct sow them. Thank you!!!
Natalie

Gorgeous! I love these photos! My Lupines were planted last spring and produced a fine mound of leaves about 18 inches tall. Perennials bloom the second year and these created quite a show. They were 5 feet tall and almost 3 feet wide! I'm eager to plant some pink ones to go with the purple ones. Perhaps they will bloom next year if I get them started soon.

I have planted lupines probably 5 different years, and I STILL don't have any that came back! I'm in Wisconsin, it isn't that hot and humid here. I thought I planted them in well drained soil.

Should I plant them in more semi-shade? I don't know why I can't grow these!!!! Very frustrating! Anyone?

I started Lupines from seed (Russel) some years ago, and they reseeded for quite awhile. Eventually died off.
They seem to need open soil nearby to replenish themselves, or at least mulched areas. Now, after 14 years, I will reseed and watch for the plants to show up again. I am in Wisconsin too, steelskies, and they seem to love it here. Pondy

For me lupines aren't really perennial, but I always have some since I let some of them go to seed each year. I think for me it's more that the voles really like them and after two years in the garden those big juicy roots are just too yummy for the voles to miss. They might just be blooming themselves to death, though. I remove those that I don't want where they have planted themselves and let the rest just do their thing.

This post was edited by nhbabs on Thu, Jan 1, 15 at 19:46

I've only grown lupines once - about 30 years ago on the Pacific Coast just south of San Francisco. They did beautifully and I was so proud of them until...one day they turned black with aphids. And I mean BLACK! Solidly covered! I tried washing the aphids off but they came back and the plants promptly died.

Anyone else have this problem? Any solutions? After seeing these lovely photos I want to try again!

Daphne in Tacoma

I love your lupines Rita! I have been growing them in Chicago and mine are just setting buds now, super exciting, do you have any new photo updates of your lupines?

Rita hasn't been with us on This forum in a couple of years. We miss all of her beautiful photos and the projects she did in her garden
kay

Thank you, Kay! I have admired her pictures! Perhaps, I'll add some of my lupines when they being to bloom, hopefully soon!

Casey