Black and White Lupine

Lupine

Lupinus

(loo-PIE-nus)

A fun flower that has a lot of structure and grace. This is a wild Lupine that was blooming in Northern New England last summer. We don’t seem to get them growing wild in Southern New England. I have found that while a good stand of Lupines can look stunning in the garden they need to be replanted every year.

Commuting to Long Island has been tiring but spending a couple of days a week at the new Estate has been rewarding. It is a fantastic and magical place that has totally enchanted me.

Russell Lupine

Russell Lupine

Lupinus polyphyllus 'Russell'

(loo-PIE-nus) (pol-ee-FIL-us)

Synonyms: Russell Hybrids Mixed

Chandelier Lupine

Lupine
Lupinus 'Chandelier'
(loo-PIE-nus)

This Lupine was an eye catcher but I pushed my cart right by it in the nursery. My history with Lupines have been mixed and it doesn’t really seem perennial in this climate. Occasionally a few return the next season and if I am lucky a few new seedlings come up the following year. I do love the structure and geometric shapes the Lupines provide in the border but for me they are much better to gaze upon then to try and grow.

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Here is Sunday’s bonus picture, Just a Siberian Iris from work. The color blue is perfect and the plant seems to like being locked up in a tiny pocket of soil between the rocks of the pool stairs.


Siberian Iris
Iris sibirica
(EYE-ris) (sy-BEER-ah-kuh)

Some Maine Wildflowers

Some Maine Wildflowers

There were thousands of wildflowers lining most roads in the Caribou area when we were there last week. This first one is an Ox-eye Daisy. One field I saw as we drove by must have been several acres of flowers.

This grass was stunning and even though I kept my eyes open for more I only saw this one little patch. Actually it was just one plant. No idea what it is and asking around didn’t reveal the answer.


This is a Wild Maine Rose that was growing in a drainage ditch along side the road a couple of hundred yards from the Canadian border in Fort Fairfield. It was smothered in blooms.


No trip to Maine would be complete without a couple of pictures of some farm equipment. This old tractor was for sale.




The Lupines were fantastic. Once over the Maine border there were patches all the way up to Caribou. I found them difficult to photograph and really only got this meager picture. All of these shots were using the new 24mm/1.8 Sigma EX lens. I like the fact that I can take a macro picture and then turn around and get a wide picture like this.