My friend Laura, who thoughtfully and without regard to her own well-being feeds the Island Blue Heron population each winter (and we do thank you, Laura ... they come back so chubby and happy ...), asked me the other day about lupins. I had mentioned it was lupin season on Prince Edward Island - those two or three weeks in the very early stages of summer when they burst forth in ditches and fields from one end of the Island to the other.
They are gorgeous. I defy anybody to come upon a field of lupins and not smile and perhaps gasp at the wonder of nature.
And they fill the field behind my house.
This is one of the pathways in the maze my daughter Erin has created in the field behind my house:
For three glorious weeks in the early summer I walk Roxy through the lupins. I mean, it's nice in mid-July, when the lupins are gone and the entire field is goldenrods. But ... this time of year is special ...
Looks like you are having a great weekend!
Posted by: MrsDoF | June 26, 2005 at 09:28 AM
Wow, I've never seen anything like that before. The sight of all those lupines would make me stop in my tracks. That is just beautiful!!
I'd be out there all day with a camera, Nils. I'd even ignore the herons. ;)
Posted by: Laura | June 26, 2005 at 12:35 PM
Beautiful lupins, beautiful writing.
Posted by: paula | June 26, 2005 at 03:11 PM
The calendar in the church kitchen has a picture of these for this month of June. Today I got to say the name of the flower and look like I'm smart because I knew it. Then I told the lady to look up your weblog, because it is my source. Thanks for the able assistance!
Posted by: MrsDoF | June 26, 2005 at 04:49 PM
I hestitate to share this for fear that you will lose all respect for me. (What? You had no respect for me to begin with? Well then, that makes this much easier.) I don't like lupins. I never have. They are pointy, and I don't think flowers should be pointy. There, I said it.
However, the field full of them does look quite nice.
Posted by: kalki | June 26, 2005 at 08:49 PM
Point taken. (g) Individual lupins? Nothing special. Hundreds or thousands in a rolling field? If you've got a pulse, you have to be impressed.
Posted by: Nils | June 26, 2005 at 11:53 PM
Yea, I'm coming to visit.
Posted by: Torrie | June 27, 2005 at 12:33 PM
Wow, I LOVE lupines. Those photos take me right back to the Rocky Mountains in my mind.
Thanks for the wonderful compliments you left on my blog. *blushing*
Posted by: Ern | June 27, 2005 at 02:14 PM
MMMMMMMMMMMMM yummy purple flowers. Mmmmmmm purple. ahhhh happy.
Posted by: JessicaRabbit | June 27, 2005 at 05:50 PM
Whoa, look at that. Delightful. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Susie | June 27, 2005 at 11:20 PM
Wow. If there is a heaven this would be it for me! (Well, that and an endless bag of calorie-free Doritos...)
Posted by: Gerah | June 27, 2005 at 11:44 PM
Holy Moly, that is amazing. Beautiful pics!
Posted by: Amanda B. | June 28, 2005 at 01:49 AM
Lurvely.
Posted by: suburban misfit | June 28, 2005 at 08:47 PM
I got no problem with pointy things...
Posted by: Bucky Four-Eyes | June 29, 2005 at 11:34 AM
Nilbo--re: the t-shirt quilt, you have to use an interfacing, as Annejelynn pointed out on my side. It irons onto the shirt squares and then the squares can be ironed onto some thin, non-stretchy fabric. And yes, it would be a GREAT wedding present.
Posted by: Ern | June 29, 2005 at 10:54 PM
I posted a pic of a lupin on my site. My brother took this photo in Nova Scotia.
Posted by: Effie | June 30, 2005 at 03:23 PM
Happy Canada Day! And beautiful lupins.
Posted by: Squirl | July 01, 2005 at 08:18 AM
Can I come live in your back yard?
Posted by: lawbrat | July 01, 2005 at 02:45 PM
i'm from P.E.I.,now live in Alabama. Miss those lupines but we did plant a couple but all we are getting are the leaves. How long before we see the actual flower? First time planting them.
Posted by: lynn | July 04, 2005 at 07:55 PM
Hey Lynn, and welcome ... I'm not sure how long it takes - they're perennials, so it may be you might not get flowers the first time planting them. On the Island, they just grow in ditches and fields wild (as you know), and there's nothing but leaves for about a month or two, then BAM, last week of June, they begin blloming and start to peter out in the middle of the second week of July. By the third week of July, it's all just leaves and stems.
Posted by: Nils | July 05, 2005 at 12:24 AM
Awesome pics! I haven't ever seen a field like that in person. You're lucky!
Posted by: Home Detention Lady | July 11, 2005 at 10:31 AM
I just found your absolutely wonderful website.
Posted by: Andrew Spark | March 17, 2006 at 04:30 AM