Throwback Thursday – Lupins

Spring officially begins on March 20 this year, making today the last Thursday of the winter. In a way, it’s hard to believe how quickly the weeks have gone by, but I don’t know anyone who’s sad to see the snow finally melting away, not to mention experiencing the end of bitterly cold wind against the skin. Heck, I’ve even worn shorts on a few runs this week!  I expect to see spring bulbs poking through the ground in quick succession over the coming weeks; by this time last year snowdrops and species Crocus were all but finished!

It’s been fun pouring over photo archives from last summer and posting these Throwbacks. For my final kick at the can I’ve chosen a perennial that’s the backbone of my mid to late spring garden – hybrid lupins.  I purchased a dozen of these in various colours about 20 years ago and planted them in one spot – it was a glorious sight for many years, until the trees I also planted nearby grew and shaded out the lupin bed. Now just one or two come up every year. I discovered though that these hybrids quite like the growing conditions here, and I could scatter or plant seeds almost everywhere and they’ll germinate and bloom in a year or two.  These days I ‘winter sow’ seeds in small pots (plant the seeds in the fall in pots, and leave the pots outside, sunk into a raised bed, exposed to rain and snow and ice, so that the seeds get stratified as required and germinate in the early spring). Makes it easy to purposefully plant them when I see a hole in the garden, and also easy to give away to friends. The repetition of these colourful spikes brings cohesion to the various beds, and the leaves are just fabulous from the day they emerge until the day they turn brown and fall away. They’re especially lovely after a rain or if there’s heavy dew in the morning. Bumble bees love them, of course!  These photos were taken last May 18.

Every Thursday this winter I’m posting an image or two taken last summer. I found that 2024 sped by so quickly and was filled with so many events, both happy and sad, that I feel I didn’t have time to simply enjoy it – especially the garden. And so I’d like, for just a few moments a week this winter, to pretend it’s still summer. To remember and re-live for an instant the sun’s warmth, the insect and birdsong, the heavy fragrances on humid, moist, slow moving air. Feel free to join me! I’m going to try to find photos I haven’t already shared, which may prove difficult, I know, and just write a line or two of explanation.