The Lupine Lady

Lupines in my garden

          Some people
              look for a 
                   beautiful place,


           Others,
                 make a place         
                                 Beautiful                 

                                           -Hazrat Inayat Khan

          
                        
                                       

Lupines in my Garden

                        

              
                           
   I have tried to grow Lupines in my garden a couple of times without success. Last year I thought I would try once more and to my surprise and excitement they came back. I had mentioned before about moving plants around until you find the perfect spot for them. I found 
the perfect spot. 

  I just got back from holidays in the East Coast of Canada and United States. We made it a driving holiday. If you have never been to the east coast you may not know that Lupines grow wild there, gracing the sides of the roads with an abundance of color. Standing tall and majestic they line the roadways, fill the gully's and if you are lucky, grow freely in your yard. I have been traveling the east coast for the past twenty some years and I am still taken by their beauty.
  So I was not disappointed this year to see that the Lupines are still growing freely and abundantly along the highways and coastline of our eastern provinces.

Lupines of the East Coast

  One year I found a book in St. Andrews by the Sea called Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney. It is the story of the Lupine Lady. It is a cute children's story about a women who wanted to do one thing to make the world more beautiful. One year she planted Lupines and the next spring she noticed that there were Lupines growing in places she hadn't planted them. It then came to her, she would scatter Lupine seeds when she went for walks, spreading beauty as she went making the world a more beautiful place.
  My neighbour recently commented on my Lupines, wondering what this exotic colourful flower was. So I will do my part to spread some beauty by drying the seeds and sharing them with my neighbour.  
  Now, I'm not suggesting that you start scattering seeds everywhere you go but if we take one patch of earth and make it more beautiful we have done a small part in beautifying the world.

  On another note, one year my sister and her family joined us on our trip to the east. We went to Cape Sable Island located at the southern most tip of Nova Scotia. We stayed at some cottages that were surrounded by lush greenery, a large part of which was a wild rose. This is also one of those plants that is abundant in the east coast and can be seen in most gardens and along roadways.
  We thought this was a beautiful rose and asked the owners if we could dig a piece up and bring home which he was more than happy to oblige. He actually seemed to wonder why we would want it. Well, once we got it home and planted it in our gardens we found out why.
  Once established this rose grows like a bad weed, invasive to say the least. I think my rose lasted a couple of years but I finally had to take it out. It was out of control and taking over way to much of my garden. My sister did the same. Don't get me wrong, this is a beautiful fragrant rose but is best used as a hedge or left to grow wild on the island where we found it.

   So that said, some plants are best enjoyed where they grow and some with a little perseverance will grow where you plant them. Either way we can take in their beauty and spread a little as we go. Enjoy and go out and make the world a more beautiful place.

  Happy Gardening!

Wild Rose