True story: While giving a talk in Santa Cruz several years back, I was invited by nurseryperson Julie Levy to stay in her wonderful home, which turned out to be one of the former personal residences of landscape architect Thomas Church. As we admired Julie’s garden, I spied an old, neglected Lupine growing in the corner. There were a few blooms still showing and to my great thrill, they were bi-colored purple and yellow* – a Lupine I’ve only dreamed of ever growing in our fogbelt! Julie said it had been there for as long as she remembered. Lucky for me there were some ripe seeds to bring home and now, TA-DAA! I give you Lupinus ‘Thomas Church’, 3’x3’ with 8-12” FRAGRANT stalks. Glorious bright green, bold foliage. Deer and mildew resistant and reliably perennial. Cut spent spikes for longest bloom. Cut back to the ground in Fall (when it goes deciduous) and watch it return again each Spring, bigger and fatter and the joy of your garden! A winner in any garden or barrel sized container – give it sun and rich, humusy soil and side dress with compost in Spring and Summer for killer perforɱaпce. Loved by butterflies, too!
*These plants are grown from seed and the strain is slightly variable. Shade of purple may be slightly variable. Mother Nature is hard to control.
