6 on Saturday – 07JUN2025 – 5 Whites and Some Lupins

Chris Mousseau

It’s been a hazy few days in much of North America; wind has pushed smoke from huge wildfires in the northern Canadian prairie provinces south and east across the continent. It’s a minor inconvenience for most, but of course a terrible tragedy for those who have lost everything. These giant fires seem to be happening with greater frequency around the world – it seems at times that the Earth is in a death spiral that most political and business leaders are unwilling to take action on.

Gardens; however, are full of colour today, haze notwithstanding, and I’ll join Jim at Garden Ruminations with six things now in bloom. Five are white – every flowering shrub or tree in the garden seem to be blooming at the same time, and many are white (dogwoods, Viburnums, lilacs, chestnut, spireas, Magnolia etc) and a lot of perennials are as well, including this Salvia. Perhaps because of our cool, wet and long spring, a lot of perennials and trees have huge flowers this year, or a lot of them. White Swan Salvia is a good example – there have never been as many flower stalks as this year.

Salvia White Swan

Tall bearded Iris are in full bloom, including this white one and an example of what most others in my garden look like – name unknown:

The large and tall Alliums are also blooming. One of my favourites is Mt Everest:

Shrubs in bloom include this lovely Shasta Viburnum:

Viburnum-plicatum-f.-tometosum-shasta

Bridlewreath spirea is also in full bloom. They’re everywhere in this county – pruned to death almost as hedges or standing in the middle of a lawn, which allows their long arching branches to be seen in all their glory. Unfortunately, they become prime rabbit food mid winter; also unfortunately, I planted them all way too close to one tree line or another, or in the middle of a perennial bed (or both) so they’ve never been allowed to grow to their full potential. Here’s one, for example, surrounded by perennials, that rabbits have left looking like a gangly teenage alpaca, perhaps, legs akimbo, reaching for the sun…

Spiraea prunifolia behind lupins on a hazy morning

And that leads me to the lupins…hybrid ones, in my garden, started years ago from scattered seeds. Have a lovely weekend everyone!

32 Comments

  1. My bridal wreath spirea is about done. I made my garden a bot too close, so occasionally resort to giving it the hedge treatment, but you are right that it does not really do it justice. I am thinking about reducing the width by pruning out maybe half the stems on the garden side so maybe it will not be so in my face. I am thinking of getting our native Lupine. I think it would look nice in my expansion, though won’t be quite as colorful as yours. Someone on the native plant gardening Reddit was talking about growing white sage in Ohio – I think they were talking about something more like what you have, and not the Salvia apiana that I was thinking of, which I love dearly, but it is a California plant that would never be happy here.

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  2. Bridal wreath spirea is one of the plants I remember from childhood. Like lilacs, I can remember the scent as well as the sight — and how beautiful the petal fall could be when our shrubs decided to shed them all at once. You may remember that I adore white flowers, and that allium made me smile and smile!

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    1. It’s a very good year for lupins!!! My yard is a bit too dry for this Viburnum to be 100% happy, but it’s slowly growing. I think the roots must have found a deep vein of water because last year the shrub sent up three tall, strong shoots. No flowers on them yet but I’m hopeful.

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    1. Sad, isn’t it…you’d think we ( or me, at least) would’ve known better…but that cute little shrub in that cute little pot looked so perfect there 10 years ago…

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  8. Those lupins are impressive. Native species are nice in profusion, but nothing like that individually. We tried ‘Russel Hybrids’ for the first time this year, but do not expect bloom from them for a while.

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  9. We live on an extremely special planet…such varieties of everything living and breathing. It’s all of our responsibilities to take care of everything surrounding us and to enjoy everything Earth has to offer. It’s more than sad to see any destruction. All your flowers are beautiful….the Lupines especially!

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  13. Purple how those plants get into the visible spectrum of light and take the right chemistry from it. They’re right electrons, neutrons and protons and spooky action is sometimes beyond me, but I think it’s very cool.

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  14. Gorgeous lupins Chris. I think I had that bridal wreath spirea in my garden in Doncaster where I grew a lot of shrubs, most of which flowered in the spring. It was a beauty with the long arching branches covered in white flowers.

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  15. Wow, your Lupines certainly are colorful…and beautiful, too! And all the other blooms are lovely, as well. My Irises are blooming, also–they have so much personality. That golden/orange/brown one is really special.

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