LUPINES ARE NEAR THEIR PEAK BLOOM, AND ARE WELL WORTH THE TRIP

LUPINES...

...LUPINIS PERENNIS...

...ALONG HIGHWAY 13...

...ALONG HIGHWAY J IN THE ORCHARD COUNTRY

Thursday,  7:30 AM.  50 degrees F at the ferry dock, 46 degrees on the back porch, up from 42 degrees there an hour ago.  Wind N to NE, light at present.  The sky is clear, the humidity has dropped to 79% and the barometer is trending down, currently at 30.16". Today and tomorrow should be nice, with rainy weather developing Saturday night and Sunday.
   Our lupines, Lupinis perennis, in the pea family (Leguminosae) , are  blooming everywhere now, and should be at their peak here this coming weekend.  They are truly a magnificent sight all along Hwy. 13 from Ashland to Red Cliff and beyond, but are found on sandy soils all along the shores of Lake Superior and northern Lake Michigan and further inland, and also in the central sand counties of Wisconsin.  I think they are more prolific in the Bayfield peninsula than anywhere else.
   The common name Lupine, or the Latin Lupinis refers to the latin Lupus, the wolf, and comes from the ancient belief in Europe that the genus caused the soil to become poor, that it "wolfed" the nutrients.  This is because Lupines grow on poor soil, but being legumes they actually improve the soil by adding nitrogen to it.  They have been blamed for a crime they don't  commit.
   The species name, perennis, refers to the plants being perennial.  However they do not, in my experience, make particularly good garden plants, probably because garden soil is usually too rich a growth medium for them.  I also find that they move around, being in one place one season and showing up somewhere else in the garden another, so this is a wild plant I find best left to nature.  I also don't think it holds up well in a vase as a cut flower, so no matter how pretty and abundant they are along the roadside, I never bother to pick them.
   Blue is the dominant flower color, and when fully mature the flowers have a white lip, which adds to their presence.  Also, there are often enough pinks and whites in the mix to provide good color contrast.
   Our wild lupines are truly worth a trip north to see, and this is probably the best weekend to see them, although they will be blooming at least another week or ten days thereafter.