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Monday, July 30, 2012

Plant ABCs: L is for Lupinus texensis

The obvious choice for the letter "L" in my series on the ABCs of Plants in My Garden is our Texas state flower Lupinus texensis or Texas Bluebonnet.


This past spring I wrote several times about this beautiful native wildflower so I won't repeat, but I'll add a few photos while linking back to previous posts.

The mild winter and rainy spring produced the best crop of bluebonnets in years.  So beautiful were these displays I devoted an entire post to bluebonnets for Garden Blogger's Bloom Day in March 2012 and another for Wordless Wednesday.


Bees were the subject of their own bluebonnet post also in March


A follow-up post detailed collecting and preparing bluebonnet seeds for planting.    The seeds we didn't pick up have already produced seedling rosettes in the garden.


This post has been a good opportunity to consolidate information on Texas bluebonnets and enjoy the memories of a beautiful spring 2012 during the current  mid-summer heat.


I have also added a tab at the top of my blog with the list of featured plants in my ABCs of Plants in My Garden series.

15 comments:

  1. Nice photos, especially the one with the little bee about to land on the bluebonnet. I miss spring!

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    1. We haven't seen many bees since the bluebonnets died out. Get through August and we're home free.

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  2. And you resisted Leucophyllum, another favorite under the Lone Death Star! Bluebonnets may sound like a cliche, but unlike cliches, it with your oak savannas really define place so magically. In looks, and in how it colonizes waste places...that's tough.

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    1. They are magical and tough. In all the places we've lived I've not seen another wildflower to equal it.

      I will go back and highlight other plants over time.

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  3. Those lupines are some purdy...
    I've tried them in my sand-hill garden only to have them die out due to the dryness factor.

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    1. They do like a bit of rain just as they emerge otherwise very heat and drought tolerant.

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  4. I love blue flowers. I can't have enough of them in my garden.

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    1. I especially enjoy blue flowers during this hottest time of year.

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  5. A great wildflower....especially for all the butterflies, bees and birds it attracts.

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    1. It's the best. Chris, I've tried to comment on your blog for the last two days can't get the comment to post. I know you've had issues with blogger so hope you see this. I'll keep trying.

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  6. Gorgeous wildflowers! They remind me of the wild lupines that grow in my home state of Alaska! Thanks for the fond memory!

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  7. Hi Shirley,
    I managed to get some seed, following your earlier posts, but I've not got round to sowing any yet. This post has been a gentle reminder not to forget them.

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  8. Great pictures! I'll have to reference all of this when we get around to planting bluebonnets in our street side planting. Really good information.

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