An old cottage garden favourite

Old hand coloured glass plate photographs from the USA National Archive which have no current copyright restrictions. The colours are brash but the Lupins and Iris stand out.

The Landscape Architect of these Parterres, Flower beds and Walkways was Horace Trumbauer, in 1930. The Box, Annuals and Ageratums are formally displayed with the fountains as a backdrop.

Both these photographs may look a bit out dated now but it is part of our gardening history. We can see how the yellows and blues work well together and notably how tidy everything seems to be.

I refreshed this post after sowing some more Lupin seeds yesterday. They are now in a cold greenhouse with some undersoil heating to get the post moving.
I used cell packs and will aim to only end up with one plant growing on in each cell.
Half of the seed I collected from various plants last autumn. The other half were bought from a commercial supplier. I wonder which will do best.

Lupins can be long lived and require only a minimum of care and attention. I give them a mulch and fertiliser when I remember.
Read more about George Russell and his Lupin breeding