I always giggle a little when I see lupines in people’s gardens, because it feels like an illicit thrill. This is because lupines (Lupinus polyphyllus) are a highly invasive species in Finland, to the point where the government funds an app where you can download and claim bounties based on how many you destroy in certain designated areas.
(Which is ironic, given that they arrived in the 19th century as ornamental garden plants. The decorative imports became so successful that destroying them is now a civic duty.)
Let’s just say we have a lot on our property. Basically, the entire strip along one side has been colonized, and they’re pretty persistent about it.
They are also just… pretty. For this reason alone, they get a stay of execution. It’s like No-Mow May, but for much more superficial reasons. I usually let them grow every year until they reach flowering stage (nobody has time for that during the rush to get vegetables into the ground anyway) and then I help myself to several very large bouquets over the next couple of weeks.
I also make a point of saving seed from any rare colors that pop up, since lupines are mostly self-fertile. These special few get the mesh bag treatment and stand there looking smug all season while their brethren steadily fall. Literally. My son loves playing Grim Reaper, whacking at them with his hockey stick, and it’s a free-for-all after a while.
So with that in mind, let me present the first of my Annual Reaping of the Lupines bouquets, combined with cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris), because I had to pull some of those out as well.
I usually leave these bouquets on the front steps because the bees adore them. It’s a regular cantina situation when they discover I’ve saved them the trouble of having to travel from plant to plant.
In a Vase on Monday is hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden — join us there!
9 responses to “In a Vase on Monday | 8th June 2026”
I’d never have expected that lupines are invasive in Finland, Angela. I can’t even get the spindly wild varieties that grow here to grow for me! Yours are gorgeous.
Very nice! The Cow Parsley looks like lace wrapped around those amazing Lupines. I didn’t realize Lupines are invasive in Finland. Sorry to hear it, because as you know they are stunning bloomers. I had some in my garden for years, but when they didn’t come back (short-lived perennial here), I moved on to other plants. I love them, though! Gorgeous bouquet!
Stunningly beautiful arrangement! 🤩
Like others, I would never have guessed that lupines (is the UK the only country that just calls them lupins?!) would be invasive in Finland. Here they are a short lived perennial in gardens but you do see them growing wild sometimes but not, I don’t think, in blue. The ones in your vase look so healthy – and blue is so much harder to find for vases. Yours (I use that term loosely!) look so lovely and healthy too, even more so accompanied by the meadow sweet. I had to giggle about the bountie and tactics for destroying them!
I’ve seen both spellings so interchangeably that I never stopped to question it until you mentioned it! Guess it’s one of the few cases where the Americans are throwing in more vowels than strictly needed 🤣
Just looking out the window onto my small patch after reading your post, I realise that what I need are blue lupins. Thank you for showing your lovely and artfully arranged arrangement. As always I like the way you also bring in the Finish customs. I suppose being American, you are able with your wonderful way with words, to weave these into your narrative.
Thank you — that’s a very kind thing to say. And yes, I think being an outsider is doing most of the work — a Finn would find all of this too obvious to mention, the way I’d never think to explain the appeal of peanut butter to anybody. 😃
How curious that they are invasive! I have problems getting them to grow for me, but they do pop up at roadsides in places. Your vase is glorious! The cow parsley is the perfect accompaniment!
It surprises everyone outside of the Nordics, I think. They’re beautiful and they’re also a genuine problem here. Which means I reap ours annually with a completely clear conscience. They’re also great at fixing nitrogen, which is a bonus for when you’re trying to improve the quality of your own land (I let them grow for a while, then hack them down so they feed it back into the soil) but not so great for native flowers that prefer poor soil.