Tall story of old favourite in lockdown
While people have been frantically panicbuying toilet rolls and flour, some have also been scouring the internet for plants to help fill all the holes in their gardens.
That’s one of the reasons so many plant stockists and nurseries now have “not available” notices plastered across their websites – they have sold out. But one potentially good thing with this rush for all things horticultural is that some oldestablished but seemingly long-forgotten plants have made an instant comeback.
Lupins, for example, have never been so popular. And one particular variety, Lupin “West Country Manhattan Lights”, has made it into the top 10 of all plants bought during the lockdown.
It’s quite a striking flower, although it can’t hold a candle to some other varieties. Nevertheless (and despite its name) it is likely to be seen in gardens throughout the land.
The lupin is an old cottage-garden favourite whose colourful flowers appear from early summer. Unfortunately, they are a particular favourite of slugs and snails, so young plants need protecting from attack.
They’re also vulnerable to frost damage over winter and in early spring, so it pays to cover the crown of the plant with a mulch to help it survive.
Then there are the dreaded aphids which love to accumulate on plants. And as if that wasn’t enough, there’s a nasty little fungal disease, called Lupin anthracnose, which affects the leaves and stems.
So why bother to grow lupins?
Because they are a lovely flower. They can grow quite tall, so staking young plants to ensure they don’t break should see them making a big impact in the herbaceous border.
Deadheading the plants as the blooms fade will encourage a second flush of flowers so you could have lupins gracing the garden from June through till late September.