Animals - especially dogs, Flowers

Make Way for Lupines

32 Comments

In Maine, early June brings many delights, but few are as beautiful as a field full of lupines.  Every year, I look forward to their tall purple and pink spikes in the deep green grass. Lupines look lovely in gardens, but to me they are best in masses, in a field.

Here is a closer look. It doesn’t hurt to have some yellow buttercups in the mix, either.

Closer to home, in my gardens, everything is thriving. The hostas, not yet chewed to green lace by snails and slugs, are thriving and whole.

The chives are nearly in bloom. I like their spiky pinkness.

On a sadder note, yesterday we sprinkled Liam’s ashes in the backyard that he loved so much, by the ferns by the fence. We have a memorial bench in honor of my mother, Clif’s mother, our previous dog Seamus, and now Liam. The Buddha was purchased in memory of Clif’s mother, who was drawn to Buddhism. The cat was for my mother, who had a special fondness for these independent creatures. Now we need a stone dog to complete the set. A collie, if we can find one. We figure that will be close enough to a Sheltie. (Seamus was a Sheltie, too.)

This bench does not make our backyard a morbid place. Far from it. Instead, it is a place of peace and delight, where the memories of those we have loved come to visit us. They are always nearby.

 

32 thoughts on “Make Way for Lupines”

  2. Love Lupines! One of the best time of year in Maine is when they’re all in bloom.

    Lots of loved ones and memories around that bench. It’s a lovely place for that to be.

  4. Oh, I love lupines! I had a small patch for a few glorious years, but then they stopped coming back. Your memorial garden is a lovely spot, and a great idea.

  6. I think that you may well be right about having the lupines in a meadow. Hmm, I wonder where I can find a field.

    Your bench is a lovely idea.

  7. Have you ever read the book Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney? Miss Rumphius fulfills a promise she made to make the world more beautiful by planting lupines throughout her Maine town. You always make our world a lovelier place with your photos and stories.
    The bench is a wonderful way to memorialize your missed loved ones!❤

    1. Many, many thanks for the kind words. I have indeed read “Miss Rumphius.” Barbara Cooney had a strong Maine connection and worked hard on a library expansion for the town of Damariscotta.

  9. How wonderful to have a field of Lupines, something we could only dream about in Canberra! I love your idea of a Memorial bench in the garden, with something to represents each one. My Mum gave me some Dutch Irises, not long before she died, and they are a lovely memory of her every spring when they flower….the garden is a great place for memories.

    1. And Canberra has many things I can only dream about. So wonderful to see them in your blog.

    1. Wow! Fantastic! There is a running Sheltie that would be perfect. Before Liam went blind, he was a dog who loved to run. Hence the Liam 500.

  12. I love the field of lupines and your garden looks wonderful! You have been in my thoughts often and the memorial bench is beautiful and looks like a very peaceful place to remember all the special memories of loved ones.

  13. After all the letters that Americans have cut out of words I’m amazed to see an extra “e” in lupin. Life is full of surprises.

    Sometimes I drive past drifts of them on roadside verges – probably as the result of high-speed guerrilla gardening. I’d like to see fields of them.

  14. The field of lupines are spectacular! Nature always knows best how to present its flowers. I like your memorials. How comforting to find them in the garden – a place of peace and delight.

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